JOINT STATEMENT

1. Ministers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, the People豷 Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the United States of America participated in the Seventh Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting convened in Osaka, Japan on 16-17 November 1995. Members of the APEC Secretariat were also present. The ASEAN Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and the South Pacific Forum (SPF) attended as observers.

2. The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister offor International Trade and Industry, and H.E. Mr. Yohei Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, of Japan.

3. In his opening remarks, Mr. Hashimoto stated that Asia-Pacific cooperation demanded a framework to enable the self-driven initiatives of economies in the region, as well as APEC collective actions, to have maximum impact and achieve tangible results. He further noted that the meeting represented APEC's embarkation upon a new phase of action for the attainment of its vision and goals, and would thus be an important first step that would set the tone for APEC for years to come.

4. Speaking as Chairman of the Sixth APEC Ministerial Meeting, H.E. Mr. Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Industry and TradeIndustry and Trade of Indonesia, expressed appreciation for Japan's leadership in facilitating the formulation of detailed proposals as mandated by the Bogor Declaration. In this regard, he was pleased to note that the "Action Agenda" reflects the three major pillars of the APEC process, namely liberalization, facilitation and development cooperation which are equally important and closely interlinked. He also welcomed the proposal of Japan entitled "Partners for Progress" which represents an important step in narrowing economic disparities between APEC economies while supporting trade and investment liberalization. In conclusion, he stated that with the combined strength and potential as well as the reasonably differentiated time frames that have been adopted, in the long run APEC will be able to overcome all the difficulties, including those that seem complex at the present time.

I. THE ACTION AGENDA

5. Ministers recognized that, in response to the decisions made by the Economic Leaders at Bogor last year, APEC activities this year focused on the formulation of the Action Agenda to achieve the Bogor Declaration goals. This new focus required intensive and wide-ranging deliberations in all APEC fora.

6. Ministers discussed the draft Action Agenda prepared by the Senior Officials, incorporating the contributions from relevant APEC fora. They agreed that the draft reflected the voluntary commitment and the political determination of each member economy to achieve the objectives set by the Economic Leaders at Bogor. Ministers further underlined the strategic significance of the Action Agenda in providing a long-term framework to chart the future course of APEC cooperation, which will enhance the prospects of accelerated, balanced and equitable economic growth in the region.

7. Ministers recognized that the Action Agenda would comprise trade and investment liberalization and trade and investment facilitation which together form Part One of the Action Agenda, and economic and technical cooperation which is dealt with in Part Two. They emphasized that these areas form the three pillars of APEC activities, and that the three are complementary and equally significant. Ministers reaffirmed their belief that the economic well-being of the region will be maximized through the focused and integrated implementation of activities under these three pillars. They noted that the Action Agenda may be revised and improved as necessary in accordance with further deliberations during the ongoing process of its implementation.

8. Ministers noted that Part One of the Action Agenda included general principles, framework for liberalization and facilitation, and actions in specific areas. They discussed and reached agreement on the general principles which are: comprehensiveness; WTO-consistency; comparability; non-discrimination; transparency; standstill; simultaneous start, continuous process, and differentiated timetables; flexibility; and cooperation.

9. Ministers underlined the unique approach for APEC liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment that builds on the marked regional trend toward economic reform and liberalization, and will act as a powerful impetus for further liberalization at the multilateral level. This approach comprises a combination of concerted unilateral actions, collective actions and multilateral actions. They confirmed each member economy's determination to submit its respective Action Plan to the 1996 APEC Ministerial Meeting in the Republic of the Philippines. These Action Plans will be formulated in accordance with the general principles and framework of the Action Agenda, so as to realize APEC苨 long-term goal of free and open trade and investment. Action Plans will comprise steps to be taken toward achievement of the objectives set out in each of the fifteen areas for specific action: tariffs, non-tariff measures, services, investment, standards and conformance, customs procedures, intellectual property rights, competition policy, government procurement, deregulation, rules of origin, dispute mediation, mobility of business people, implementation of the Uruguay Round outcomes, and information gathering and analysis.

10. Ministers stressed the need to further promote economic and technical cooperation in order to achieve sustainable growth and equitable development in the Asia Pacific region. Economic and technical cooperation will reduce economic disparities among APEC economies, improve the economic and social well-being of the peoples of the region, contribute to the process of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and help to attain sustainable development. They reaffirmed that APEC economic and technical cooperation will be based on the three essential elements of developing common policy concepts, implementing joint activities and engaging in policy dialogue. Economic and technical cooperation activities will be pursued in the specific areas of human resources development, industrial science and technology, small and medium enterprises, economic infrastructure, energy, transportation, telecommunications and information, tourism, trade and investment data, trade promotion, marine resource conservation, fisheries, and agricultural technology. The overall progress of these activities will be subject to annual review.

11. Ministers agreed to introduce and utilize "Partners for Progress" (PFP) as a new mechanism, based on mutual assistance and voluntarism, to promote economic and technical cooperation more efficiently within APEC. They also noted that PFP will address all aspects of economic and technical cooperation with particular focus on cooperation which directly supports the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

12. Recognizing that the various APEC fora have concentrated this year on contributing to the composition of the draft Action Agenda, Ministers valued the inputs provided by the relevant Ministerial Meetings, and expressed satisfaction with the important contributions made by other APEC fora, including the Economic Committee (EC), the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI), the Working Groups, the Policy Level Group, and the Experts Meetings. Ministers particularly welcomed the detailed plans for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation developed by the Committee on Trade and Investment. It was also noted that the Ministerial Meetings, Working Groups and other relevant fora had prepared Action Programs which form an integral part of the Action Agenda.

13. Ministers welcomed the third report submitted by the Eminent Persons Group as an important reference for elaborating the Action Agenda as well as stepping up APEC cooperation. The report contains recommendations on the implementation of the APEC vision set forth at the Economic Leaders Meetings on Blake Island and in Bogor.

14. Ministers welcomed the second report of the Pacific Business Forum, and noted that its recommendations on the implementation of the Bogor Declaration from the perspective of the business/private sector were of significant value in the process of drawing up the Action Agenda. Ministers also noted with satisfaction that various regional fora with business/private sector representation, such as Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), and Asia Pacific Business Network (APB-Net), made substantial efforts to contribute to the formulation of the Action Agenda.

15. Ministers agreed to propose the draft Action Agenda to the Economic Leaders for their consideration and adoption.

|II. DEVELOPMENT OF APEC ACTIVITIES |
| III. ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES | IV. OTHER MATTERS |

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