Bangkok Outcomes Aim to Ensure Regional Prosperity

APEC Leaders and Ministers met in Bangkok in October to collectively confront global and regional challenges. Leaders recommitted to their trade liberalisation goals and to concluding the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations. To ensure secure communities and economies, they announced concrete counter-terrorism measures. And to make more broadly available the benefits of liberalisation, they reaffirmed their commitment to economic and technical cooperation, to expand knowledge-based economies, and to maintain stable and efficient financial systems.

Concrete steps were taken at the 11th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and 15th APEC Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to advance APEC's vision of "achieving stability, security and prosperity for our peoples". APEC Leaders stressed the importance of successfully concluding the WTO Doha Development Agenda and made a strong commitment to restart talks on the basis of the text put forward by Mexican Foreign Minister and Fifth WTO Ministerial Meeting Conference Chair, Minister Ernesto Derbez. Leaders agreed to abolish all forms of agricultural export subsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions, while continuing APEC's WTO capacity building program.

Leaders acknowledged that the growing number of Free Trade Agreements/Regional Trade Arrangements can be complementary with APEC's free trade and investment goals if they are comprehensive and WTO consistent.

APEC's "complementary mission of ensuring the security of our people" was confirmed by Leaders in Bangkok. Leaders agreed to dismantle transnational terrorist groups, eliminate weapons of mass destruction and confront other threats to regional security.

APEC responded decisively on SARS in 2003. APEC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Strategy, Emerging Infections Network, Action Plan on SARS, Communications Strategy on SARS and new Health Task Force are concrete actions APEC has taken to help protect the people of the region from infectious disease outbreaks. Together these policies and mechanisms will ensure that economies pool their scientific and communications resources to combat future infectious disease outbreaks, whether natural or man-made, while minimising the impact on economic activity.

APEC made progress on life sciences and conducted the first Life Sciences Innovation Forum in 2003 to look at ways to encourage development of this important sector, which not only stimulates the economies of the region, but helps to improve the health of the people of the Asia-Pacific. Ministers agreed to harmonise quality standards for life sciences services and products. APEC also continued discussions on agricultural biotechnology. This issue has a direct impact on consumer safety, food to feed growing populations, agricultural trade and the livelihood of the region's farmers.

Capacity building enables opportunities and benefits of APEC liberalisation to be shared among a wider group of beneficiaries. In 2003, APEC set four priority areas for its economic and technical cooperation work in the future:

These priority themes, combined with the partnerships established with international financial institutions in 2003 and planned partnerships with the business sector in 2004, should enable APEC to make its economic and technical cooperation efforts work even harder for the region. This list of priorities, however, does not preclude APEC from responding to future priorities as may be identified by Leaders. Additional ECOTECH and capacity building activities may be undertaken by economies.

Leaders called for accelerated work in creating knowledge-based economies and improving access to the Internet. Internet access will unlock benefits in the areas of education, lifelong learning, e-commerce and e-government.

Leaders also supported steps to create sound and efficient financial markets in the region and domestic economic reform to ensure the region's continuing economic dynamism and prosperity.