JOINT STATEMENT

Ministers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, the People’s 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 Eighth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting convened in Manila, Philippines on 22-23 November 1996. 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.

The President of the Republic of the Philippines, H.E. Fidel V. Ramos opened the Meeting by extending the warmest welcome to all delegates attending the Eighth APEC Ministerial Meeting. He stated that as this year’s APEC Chair, the Philippines has set three leadership tasks for itself, namely: carrying out the Manila Action Plan for APEC 1996 (MAPA ‘96), strengthening economic and technical cooperation and engaging the private sector in the APEC process. He stressed that APEC has moved from the commitment-making phase of setting vision, goals and agenda to action phase of carrying out individual and collective initiatives. In his remarks, he also emphasized the importance of economic and technical cooperation as an instrument of deepening the spirit of community among APEC economies.
The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Domingo L. Siazon Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines. In his opening remarks, Secretary Siazon cited the significance of MAPA ‘96, the Declaration on an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Framework on Strengthening Economic Cooperation and Development and the other reports and recommendations of the various APEC fora as measures of APEC’s progress toward free and open trade. He stressed the need for APEC to remain a catalyst for harmonizing economic growth and equitable sustainable development to preserve its relevance as well as its future. He called for a stronger commitment to open regionalism which should be the guide for discussions at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Singapore. Finally, he urged the member economies to foster among them a stronger sense of community in order to realize their common aspiration for regional peace built on prosperity.

Speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Seventh APEC Ministerial Meeting, H.E. Mr. Yukihiko Ikeda of Japan expressed deep appreciation for the Philippines’ chairmanship of APEC in 1996. He stressed how APEC this year has steadily addressed the challenge of taking a firm step toward steady implementation of the Osaka Action Agenda. He noted the submission of individual action plans of all members, the steady results in the activities being undertaken in the economic and technical cooperation areas, the discussions on the FEEEP initiative, and the recommendations set forth by ABAC outlining the aspirations of the business sector. He cautioned Ministers not to fall into complacency as APEC is to be maintained as a dynamic, evolving process and enjoined the Ministers to provide the political direction. He emphasized that the tasks of the Manila Meeting are to solidify the prosperity and cooperation in this region and to show the world that the APEC process is worthy of great credibility.

Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Osaka Action Agenda (OAA) to achieve the APEC goal of free and open trade and investment by 2010 and 2020 and to the principles of comprehensiveness, WTO consistency, comparability, non-discrimination, transparency, standstill, simultaneous start, continuous process and differentiated timetables, flexibility and cooperation. Ministers re-emphasized the importance of taking forward progressively the action plans.

　　I PROGRESS ON THE 1995 APEC ECONOMIC LEADERS’ DECLARATION FOR ACTION AND APEC ACTION PROGRAM FOR 1996
　　II STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN APEC
　　III PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION
　　IV ORGANIZATIONAL AND BUDGET ISSUES
　　V OTHER MATTERS

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