At their meeting in Lima, Peru (Nov. 22-23), APEC Economic Leaders, in addition to their Annual Declaration, issued a separate Lima Statement on the Global Economy. It reflects the outcomes of the 15th Finance Ministers' Meeting (FMM), which took place earlier in the month in Trujillo. The gathering of Finance Ministers and representatives of key international financial institutions was able to assess measures taken around the region so far, to address the turmoil on global financial markets. The meeting also discussed the need for medium and longer term reforms of regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors.

A Joint Ministerial Statement issued by the meeting includes the following:

• A strong endorsement of the recommendations of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Plan of Action and the G20 special session of Finance Ministers; and welcomed the convening of the G20 Leaders' Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy held in Washington on November 15;
• A commitment to resist protectionist measures and a call for a prompt, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations, noting that the crisis has underlined the interdependence of markets and the importance to all inter-linked economies of continued trade liberalisation and market reforms, including behind-the-border structural reforms; and
• Tasks the newly established APEC Policy Support Unit to undertake research into behind-the-border impediments within food supply chains, in recognition that, although food and commodity prices have fallen recently, their volatility continues to place pressure on APEC economies and their most vulnerable citizens;

In 2008 Senior Finance Officials also worked closely with Economic Committee officials in preparing the inaugural APEC Structural Reform Ministers' Meeting, hosted by Australia in August 2008. This meeting addressed the benefits of structural reform, with a particular focus on regulatory reform; strategies for successful implementation of reform, including political considerations; and robust legislative and institutional frameworks. A key deliverable was endorsement of the Good Practice Guide to Regulatory Reform and agreement that FMP and EC should continue to work closely on matters of common interest.

Pursuant to the FMP policy initiatives, a number of workshops and seminars took place in 2008:

• The Enhancing Risk Management and Governance in the Region's Banking System to Meet Risks & Challenges in the Global Banking System capacity building program was held in Shanghai, China in December. Participants from 11 APEC developing member economies attended. The program analysed: risk management in banking, including the challenges faced in implementing Basel II prescriptions; strengthening regulatory frameworks in prudential banking; and approaches to capital allocation in the context of risk management.
• The Fiscal Space - Reviewing, Assessing and Prioritizing Government Expenditure workshop, the second in a series, was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in May. The workshop sought to increase participants' practical skills in and understanding and application of fiscal space concepts, in ways that are appropriate for immediate use in their own economies.
• The Building Fiscal Sustainability Through Better Risk Management of Public-Private Partnership ("PPP") Projects seminar and workshop (segment 2) was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam in May. The seminar looked at current trends and issues relating to the development of PPP markets in the region. The workshop developed the action plans that participants had already formulated to address economy-specific issues to support better risk management of PPPs. A set of Principles for PPPs was formulated and subsequently at the Finance Ministers' Meeting in November.
• As part of the "Initiative on Ageing Issues in APEC", a high-level seminar co-hosted by APEC and the International Monetary Fund took place in Seoul in May. At the workshop, participating member economies explored and shared experiences on economy-specific and general issues regarding ageing and financial markets in APEC. The participants included high-level government officials and experts from academia.
• A workshop, organised by the APEC Finance Development Centre (AFDC), on Promoting SME financing in the APEC Region was held in June 2008 at the Shanghai National Accounting Institute. The workshop considered the challenges facing SMEs in a tighter fiscal environment and how to obtain and manage credit.