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Issued by The 1st APEC Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform

APEC Ministers Release Joint Statement on Structural Reform

Melbourne, Australia, 5 August 2008

APEC's first Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting concluded with a commitment by APEC's 21 members to support sustainable economic growth and improved citizen well-being within APEC economies, and around the Asia-Pacific.

In addition to engaging in dialogue with business representatives, Ministers shared experiences on the benefits and political challenges of structural reform and how a regulatory framework facilitates structural reform.

They also set out action points for taking forward the APEC agenda to integrate structural reform issues into the elements of trade and investment policy, structural policy and macroeconomic and financial sector policy.

Chair of the APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting and Australia's Treasurer, Hon. Wayne Swan MP, said that efficient and well functioning markets produce many benefits and that they allocate resources to their best use and facilitate competition.

"This leads to better quality products and services at lowest possible prices and better choice for consumers, Mr. Swan said. "Increased competition also encourages innovation and productivity gains and sustainable economic growth, improving the well-being of citizens.

"Given the difficult global economic environment, structural reform in our region is more important than ever, and this meeting has been an excellent opportunity to share experiences and ideas about how to pursue key reforms into the future..

Recognizing the importance of building consensus, Ministers discussed how different institutional frameworks, processes and strategies can help economies successfully achieve reform. Agreeing on the importance of providing practical support, Ministers asked APEC officials to develop a forward work-program for capacity building.

"Importantly, we have also considered how APEC can provide practical assistance to member economies which want to undertake structural reform," said Minister Swan.

"We have tasked the Economic Committee to develop a proposal that will support member economies to undertake voluntary or self-reviews of their own institutional frameworks and processes for reform." Progress made by the Economic Committee on developing the review process will be reported to Leaders when they meet in November in Lima.

In conclusion, Ministers urged the APEC Economic Committee to make progress on developing the review process.

Downloads Available:
- News Conference Webcast and Audio
- Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting Joint Ministerial Statement

For More Information, Contact:

Michael Chapnick (in Australia) on +61 (0) 420 557 375 or mc@apec.org

Anita Douglas on (+65) 9172 6427 or ad@apec.org