APEC Finance Ministers to Meet September 2-3, Volatile Capital Flows & Fiscal Policy Development on Agenda

Finance Ministers from APEC Member Economies will meet in Santiago, Chile, this Thursday and Friday to address a range of issues including volatile capital flows and fiscal policy development in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year's meeting of APEC Finance Ministers will also feature the inclusion of international financial organizations in the ministerial discussions. Representatives from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will look at options to use collective strengths to build the capacity of all APEC Members to compete in the global economy.

This 11th Annual Meeting of APEC Finance Ministers will meet under the formal themes of "Fiscal Policies for Growth and Stability in an Open APEC Region" and "Institution Building in a World of Free and Volatile Capital Flows." The agenda for the meeting will also include an assessment of macroeconomic developments in the region since the last Finance Ministers' meeting.

With the mid-term review of progress towards APEC's free trade and investment goals due next year, the meeting will be an opportunity to identify priorities for the coming year.

The APEC Finance Ministers' process provides a forum for an exchange of views and information among members on regional financial developments, and for the pursuit of cooperative programs to promote financial sector development and liberalization.

The meeting will be chaired by the Finance Minister of Chile, Mr. Nicolás Eyzaguirre, at the Santiago Sheraton Hotel on 2-3 September. The Ministers' Meeting is preceded by a meeting of APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies on August 31-September 1.

A joint Press Conference will be held at the Santiago Sheraton at 2:30PM on Friday, September 3.

The 10th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Phuket, Thailand, in 2003.