APR News

II Mongolia Business Summit will be held on June 18-20, 2015 in Ulan Bator. The summit will bring together the representatives of Mongolian governmental authorities, and leading Mongolian and international business executives. The discussion of the event will focus on trends, developments and opportunities in Mongolia’s major industries (e.g. mining, agriculture, construction, energy etc) as well as business environment in the country. The participants will have an opportunity to visit Erdenet Mining Corporation, one of the biggest Ore mining and Ore processing factory in Asia.

For additional information please the official summit web-site or send a request by email urtnasan.b@meforum.mn (B. Urtnasan) and altanzul@meforum.mn (Z. Altanzul) or by phone (976) 11-321051.

Preliminary programme
Registration form

APEC Trade Ministers met in Boracay, Philippines on May 23-24, 2015. The meeting concluded with the statement adoption on expanding trade and spurring economic activity towards strong, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The statement describes joint actions to be taken forward by APEC members in the following priority areas:

• Supporting the Multilateral Trading System
• Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda
• Fostering SMEs’ Participation in Regional and Global Markets
• Investing in Human Capital Development
• Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities
• Strengthening Economic and Technical Cooperation
• 2015 Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Statement
• Annex. Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs

Trade Ministers also adopted a standalone statement on supporting the multilateral trading system.

Press-release at the official APEC web-site

New APEC Policy Support Unit report analyses FTAs influence on exports in the Asia-Pacific region. The findings of the report were submitted to APEC Trade Ministers in Boracay on May 23-24, 2015.
Initial analysis showed that the average exports five years after an FTA is enforced is significantly higher vis-à-vis the average exports five years before. In addition, the quality of a free trade agreement was also found to be important in terms of encouraging exports. For example, some agreements only cover goods but exclude services. Others are more comprehensive and include regulations affecting labor, environment, competition policies and other chapters. The study tested for quality through comparing FTAs enforced before 2005 and those after 2005, the rationale being that later FTAs are more comprehensive and of higher quality.

The number of regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) in the Asia-Pacific region has multiplied since the 1990s with APEC members among the most active economies in negotiating FTAs. At present, APEC members have 144 enforced FTAs, approximately 53 percent of the global number of FTAs.

Press-release at the official APEC web-site
Full report

A new memorandum of cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will be drafted and signed by the end of this year, SCO Secretary-General Dmitry Mezentsev said.

According to Mr Mezentsev, this issue was discussed at a meeting of SCO delegation with Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP Shamshad Akhtar. The document is to remain in effect from 2016 to 2018.
The two organisations have built up highly productive cooperation, Mr Mezentsev noted, in particular in the transportation sector.

Press-release at the official website of Russia’s Presidency in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2014-2015

New APEC Policy Support Unit Economic Trends report is released. According to the report, economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region hinges on the strength of consumer spending, underscoring the importance of inclusive growth and structural reforms to boost domestic demand.

APEC’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.9 per cent in 2014, compared with a world GDP growth of 3.4 per cent. Consumer spending remained the key driver behind the continued expansion of APEC economies, accounting for some 2.6 per cent or almost 90 per cent of the region’s GDP growth in 2014.

As economies rebalance towards domestic drivers, APEC members will increasingly need to rely on reforming the domestic environment including fair and transparent taxation policies and providing social safety nets to free up household spending.

Press-release at the official APEC web-site
Full report

Russia – ASEAN political consultations at the level of the Foreign Ministers Deputies were held in Kuala Lumpur on May 19-20, 2015. The key topic of the discussion was the formation of the indivisible security architecture and sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

The participants of the meeting emphasized the progress in cooperation between Russia and ASEAN in the spheres of economy and energy, science and technologies, emergency response, culture and tourism. The participants agreed on preparing the anniversary events in view of 20th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership in 2016.

The next round of Russia-ASEAN political consultations will be held in Russia in 2016.

Press-release at the Russian MFA web-site (in Russian)

2015 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) will be held on September 8-11, 2015 in Xiamen, China. CIFIT is the world's largest investment expo cosponsored by six international economic organizations, including UNCTAD, UNIDO, WTO, OECD, IFC and WAIPA.

Trade Ministers, Senior Officials and working-level experts from the APEC member economies will hold the meetings on the island of Boracay, Philippines on May 12-24, 2015. The proceedings will culminate with the 2015 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting on May 23-24, 2015. The overarching agenda will center on advancing new trade agreements and complementary policy infrastructure to improve trade and growth, in ways that progressively benefit all corners of society and economies in the region. In particular the participants will discuss the factors and effects of the trade slowdown for the APEC member economies; possible ways for new tariff-reducing arrangements; trade opportunities for SMEs, including their integration into industry production chains; boosting innovations.

Press-release at the official APEC web-site

Leading academics and policy makers recommended strategies for APEC to accelerate regional economic integration and inclusive growth in the Asia-Pacific at a two-day APEC Study Centers Consortium Conference in Boracay, Philippines held on May 12-13, 2015, ahead of the APEC Second Senior Officials’ and Trade Ministers’ meetings.

The annual conference offers an opportunity for policy researchers from over 50 APEC Study Centers, universities and think tanks to share their analyses on how APEC can achieve its key 2015 priorities, including increasing services trade in the region and realizing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), as well as bolstering small and medium enterprises and investing in human capital development.

“One of the main obstacles for governments to liberalize trade in services is the fact that creating more open services trade across borders requires implementing domestic regulatory reforms,” explained Dr Robert Scollay, Associate Professor and Director of the New Zealand APEC Study Center. “Governments are cautious about changes to domestic regulations due to the uncertainty of the impact of such reforms”.

“In order to achieve progress and reduce the uncertainty on the effects of regulatory reforms, APEC can play an important role as incubator in services liberalization through knowledge sharing of best practices and bringing key stakeholders together to address how these regulatory reforms can be implemented with optimal outcomes,” recommended Scollay.

Press-release at the official APEC web-site

APEC member officials adopted the Port Moresby Joint Statement on the 2015 High Level Policy Dialogue on Human Capacity Building at the conclusion of their meeting on May 7, 2015 in Papua New Guinea. They met under the theme, “Investing in Human Capital, Building Inclusive Economies.”

The Joint Statement addresses the following issues:

• Developing the 21st century workforce: key to inclusive and sustainable growth
• Aligning education and training to industry needs in the 21st century: strategic approaches
• Enhancing skills of SME workers: critical to competitiveness and linking to global value chains 

The meeting was chaired by Mario Deriquito, Philippine Undersecretary for Education. Participants also included academia and Doris Magsaysay Ho, Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council, representing the private sector.

Press-release at the APEC web-site
Full statement