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APEC Business Advisory Council |
Commerce is the lifeblood of the region and business is the engine of economic growth.
Recognising the integral role of business and the value of representative business advice on key issues, APEC Leaders established the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in 1995.
This private sector body presents recommendations to APEC Leaders in an annual dialogue and advises APEC officials on business sector priorities and concerns. ABAC meets four times per year, and ABAC representatives also attend Senior Officials' Meetings, the Annual Ministerial Meeting and the sectoral Ministerial Meetings.
ABAC comprises up to three senior business people from each APEC economy and the appointments are made by the Leader of the member economy concerned. The Chair of ABAC comes from the economy that is hosting APEC and therefore changes annually. ABAC represents a diverse range of sectors and includes small and large enterprises.
Achievements
ABAC's annual reports to APEC Economic Leaders outline business views about priority regional issues and contain recommendations to improve the business and investment environment in the APEC region. Many of ABAC's recommendations, for example the idea of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, have become core APEC activities.
Building on the progress made in the previous year, ABAC has decided to adopt - "Working towards Sustainable Growth for All" - as the central theme for 2010. ABAC will be focusing on strengthening economic structure for balanced growth, advancing regional economic integration, and enhancing economic growth in harmony with the environment.
Five working groups have been established to carry out the 2010 work programme. These include: Liberalisation Working Group, Facilitation Working Group, Sustainable Development Working Group, Finance and Economics Working Group, and Capacity Building Action Plan Working Group.
In June 2010, ABAC put forward two important documents: ABAC's key messages for APEC Leaders which was developed based on ABAC's own review of the achievement of the Bogor Goals, and ABAC's letter to APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade.
ABAC's review of the achievement of the Bogor Goals clearly identifies that many member economies (both developed and developing) have become considerably more open since 1994. However, there is more to be done to achieve the goal of free and open trade and investment for all economies in the APEC region by 2020. Based on the review, ABAC recommends that Leaders develop a new vision for economic integration that reflects the nature of modern Asia-Pacific regional supply chains and value chains. This vision should seek to liberalise flows of goods, services, investments, technology, e-commerce and people; and place a strong emphasis on balanced and inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The first ABAC meeting was held from 9 - 12 February 2010, in Melbourne, Australia. (media release)
The second ABAC meeting was held from 18 - 21 May 2010 in Chinese Taipei. (media release)
APEC Business Advisory Council - Key Contacts
2009 ABAC Chair
Mr. Gempachiro Aihara
Counselor
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
1-2, Ohtemachi, 1-Chome, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0004 Japan
Tel: (813) 3285-7085
Fax: (813) 3285-9390
Email: mitsuiabac@mitsui.com
ABAC Executive Director 2010
Mr. Osamu Kamikawa
Deputy General Manager
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
1-2 Ohtemachi, 1-Chome, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0004 Japan
Tel: (813) 3285-5857
Fax: (813) 3285-9612
Email: O.Kamikawa@mitsui.com
ABAC Secretariat
Mr. Antonio Basilio,
Director for Operations
43/F. Philamlife Tower
8767 Paseo de Roxas
Makati City, 1226 Philippines
Tel: (632) 843-6001 / 845-4564
Fax: (632) 845-4832
Email: abacsec@pfgc.ph
APEC Secretariat
Ms. Tran Bao Ngoc
Director (Program)
Email: tbn@apec.org
Reviewed on: 7 August 2010