APEC

Japan to Host APEC 2010

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) seeks to achieve economic growth for the region through trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. Japan will host a series of meetings, including the Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November, as the APEC 2010 Chair. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has expressed his confidence that “as long as the APEC economies make collaborative actions to bring about meaningful changes, we can meet the needs of the times, formulate a region-wide, mid-to-long term growth strategy, promote regional economic integration, and put into practice actions that ensure human security.” Japan Echo asked Muhamad Noor, Executive Director.

Given the variety of international frameworks in the Asia-Pacific region and the history of APEC thus far, what aspects of the APEC framework do you deem as being important?

MUHAMAD NOOR: APEC is a unique forum in many ways. It comprises twenty-one member economies—both industrialized and developing—from both sides of the Pacific. Together these members represent 40 percent of the world’s population, 43 percent of global trade and 55 percent of world gross domestic product.

At APEC’s inception in 1989, ideas like globalization and free trade were regarded with some suspicion. Today, the Asia-Pacific region has demonstrated that trade and investment are essential drivers of economic growth. APEC has shown through its own experience that trade and cooperation expand opportunities, increase security and ultimately lead to prosperity.

After more than twenty years of cooperation, APEC members have developed strong relationships and have a shared history of successful collaborative regional efforts. Because members seek the common goal of regional prosperity, they are able to transcend differences in culture, politics and levels of development, which might otherwise serve as impediments. APEC’s nonbinding nature is conducive to frank dialogue, an emphasis on learning and the exchange of experiences.

In January 2010 you became APEC’s first permanent, fixed-term executive director. What do you hope to achieve during your tenure?

As a former permanent representative for Malaysia to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, I am acutely aware of the correlation between trade and economic development. Japan has chosen the theme of “Change and Action” for the APEC meetings in 2010. I am keen to develop new ideas and strategies and believe that it is equally important to follow these ideas up with action.

Since my appointment as executive director, I have developed a three-year strategic plan that focuses on aligning the secretariat with members’ aspirations, promotes the development of internal capacity building and underscores a shift toward results-based management.

As one example, APEC carries out over 200 capacity-building project s every year. This year, these projects will undergo reforms to improve quality, outcome s and evaluative processes. The secretariat will also be working on improving coordination and collaboration among the nearly forty issue – specific groups that carry out APEC’s work to make sure that the issues are dealt with comprehensively and that there is no unnecessary overlap.

Lastly, we will also be working hard on our communications and outreach so that people throughout the region can better understand the role that APEC plays. This is key to maintaining and increasing support for APEC and its initiatives.

What will be the major topics for discussion at the 2010 meetings in Japan?

This year APEC will be discussing two important items, namely, assessment of the levels of achievement of the Bogor Goals and formulation of a new vision to promote further growth and prosperity. The new vision will be formed around the pillars of regional economic integration, a new growth strategy, human security and economic and technical cooperation.

How will the achievement levels of the Bogor Goals be measured?

It’s extremely important for APEC and for Japan that the assessment of the Bogor Goals be credible and transparent and not just a superficial analysis. For this reason, the assessment is being carried out from a range of perspectives and will include input from the economies themselves, APEC’s senior officials and Policy Support Unit, the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter – American Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and the World Trade Organization. All of their views will be considered and discussed, and a final assessment report will be submitted to APEC ministers and leaders in November.

The process is quite involved and is not yet complete. However, preliminary observations are promising.

We’re doing well as a region, and progress has translated into real social benefits. Since APEC was established in 1989, the average tariff has decreased from 17 percent to 6 percent. Per capita GDP has tripled, and unemployment has steadily decreased. Poverty in the region has fallen substantially. It is another encouraging fact that seven developing economies have volunteered to undergo assessment ten years before their target date, as 2010 is the deadline for the five industrialized economies. This illustrates just how confident the economies are with their own progress, and this gives APEC confidence as a group.

As for the new vision for further growth and prosperity, what sort of discussions will take place?

In 2009 leaders committed themselves to putting in place a comprehensive, long-term growth strategy that supports balanced growth within and across the region’s economies, achieves greater inclusiveness in our societies, sustains our environment, and seeks to raise growth potential through innovation and a knowledge-based economy.

“Balanced growth” refers to unwinding global imbalances and raising the potential output of APEC member economies. “Inclusive growth” aims to ensure that the benefits of globalization are more evenly enjoyed. “Sustainable growth” means encouraging energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. And “knowledge-based growth” means creating an innovative environment and promoting the development and utilization of technology.

Each of these areas will remain part of the APEC agenda beyond 2010 and will demand both domestic and regional efforts. In addition, because some of these concepts are relatively new, they may evolve as economies learn through experience, exchange ideas and adopt best practices.

What role should Japan fulfill in the context of the aforementioned discussions?

A number of very important tasks have fallen to Japan this year, such as leading the assessment on the achievement of the Bogor Goals, developing the new growth strategy and defining a new vision for APEC.

Japan has shown real initiative in our discussions, fleshing out the directions given by the leaders last year, giving them shape and designing agendas to elicit serious discussion among members.

Furthermore, with trademark sophistication and the integrity with which Japan has hosted our members, Japan has ensured that APEC delegates are comfortable, well-equipped and able to focus on the things that will make the most difference to people throughout the region. Above all, the helpfulness and hospitality of the Japanese people have been a source of inspiration.

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Japan’s Role in APEC Japan 2010

A message from the APEC 2010 Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Chairs: Mr. Shigeru Nakamura, Ambassador for International Economic Affairs, MOFA; Mr. Hidehiko Nishiyama, Director-General for International Trade Policy, METI



As political and economic structures around the world change drastically, APEC must make the Changes and take the concrete Actions necessary for APEC to build on its past experience and continue to play a key role, geared to the twenty-first century. This is the basic idea behind APEC Japan 2010. Specifically, we will appropriately assess the progress of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in line with the Bogor Goals and map out operational guidelines that will lead the Asia-Pacific region to further heights along the three pillar themes of “regional economic integration,” “a new growth strategy” and “human security” and with economic and technical cooperation to support them.

The critical role of Japan in chairing APEC is to contribute to drafting a roadmap and an operational guideline that aims for continued Asia- Pacific regional growth and to achieve stable, medium- to long-term prosperity.

Japan was heavily involved in founding APEC together with Australia, and in 1995, it played a leading role as chair in drafting the Osaka Action Agenda, which lays out the roadmap toward achieving the Bogor Goals. Since 1995, Japan has also made a major contribution to the economic and technical cooperation activities of APEC through annual funding of Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation (TILF), offering consistent support for APEC operations and playing a central role in regional cooperation that includes further trade liberalization and facilitation in the region.

The knowledge and experience we have accumulated through these activities, as well as those gained from fulfilling important roles in the global economy as a primary member of the G8 and the G20, can be directed toward APEC’s further development. As a model “problem-solving” economy that is interdependent with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, Japan continues to contribute to APEC procedures, aiming to facilitate powerful growth in the region.


This year, 2010, is a time for industrialized economies to achieve the Bogor Goals as well as a major milestone year to discuss the direction that the APEC region’s economic integration should take after achieving the Bogor Goals. With major structural changes taking place around the world, the Asia-Pacific region needs a vision for further unification and stable growth following the economic crisis. 2010 is the time to work on these issues.

We will be holding ministerial and other relevant meetings throughout Japan from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south, culminating in the Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Yokohama. We also plan to offer concurrent opportunities for delegations to be introduced to the traditional culture and tasty cuisine that Japan has developed through its cultural exchange with Asia, to the latest technologies, and to modern Japanese popular culture that has won fans around the world. We expect delegations from each economy to engage in serious discussions in the meetings as well as to thoroughly enjoy their stay in Japan.