Finance Ministers Support Partnerships, Press for Regional Economic Integration
Finance Ministers from across the APEC region have outlined coordinated actions to be taken in responding to the global financial crisis, as the 15th Annual APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting comes to a close.
While risk to the stability of the international financial system remains, Ministers cite a shift in focus away from wholesale markets and toward the impact of a more general slowdown in global economic activity. International cooperation is considered a complement to domestic policy actions taken in response.
To this end, Ministers have committed to strengthen legal, regulatory and institutional mechanisms to respond swiftly to distressed financial institutions; to strengthen capital markets; and to broaden and diversify the investor base.
They cite the need for greater participation of specialised institutions to provide depth and innovation in markets; and support measures taken by economies and international organisations, including the G7 Finance Ministers and the IMF to stabilize financial markets as well as the real economy.
Ministers acknowledge the importance of multilateral initiatives in the IMF and OECD to facilitate the smooth integration of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) into the international financial system. They also recognise public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a way to meet infrastructural requirements of both emerging and developed APEC economies, and to foster the development of capital markets with alternative long-term financial assets. A set of common principles is available to APEC economies for use as a reference for formulating guidelines for PPP markets.
In a Joint Ministerial Statement, issued today, Finance Ministers reaffirm APEC's commitment and progress toward regional economic integration:
"Our ongoing objective is to realise the APEC region's economic potential by drawing together the common interests of member economies and exploring opportunities for cooperation and capacity building. It is important that the work of Finance Ministers continues to be aligned with the broader APEC agenda and processes. The Regional Economic Integration Agenda represents one avenue to align this work...
"Prosperity within APEC economies, and globally, depends on maintaining our commitment to free and open trade and investment. An open and rules-based global trading system makes an important contribution to global growth and development. We will resist protectionist measures in all areas that could reverse the economic progress we have made over the last decade. We call for a prompt, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations."
Commodity prices have decreased but Ministers acknowledge that levels and cost volatility continue to affect APEC economies. In response, they consider as imperative: regulatory frameworks, transport infrastructure and logistics capability to support the efficient movement, handling and marketing of food commodities across the entire food chain.
As a means to improve the quality of public expenditure, Ministers have considered results-based budgeting (RBB) as a means to link funding of general government entities to the results they deliver and to introduce performance benchmarks to budget processes.
They also acknowledged the importance of: "fighting corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal abuse of the financial system"; and of addressing the implications of climate change "on both the environment and the global economy."
The two-day meeting, held in Trujillo, Peru, included representation and input from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter American Development Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
To access the Joint Ministerial Statement, in its entirety, go to: