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"At the same time, various working groups and other APEC forums have been undertaking joint activities in the programme areas under Economic and Technical Co-operation set out in Part Two of the Osaka Action Agenda," he said.
In addition to MAPA, Senior Officials of APEC will also discuss, during the coming Informal Senior Officials Meeting to be held in Manila on November 20 and 21, the APEC membership policy, including membership criteria and whether the three-year moratorium should be extended, Senior Officials will submit their recommendations to Ministers for consideration.
Mr Lai will attend the Informal Senior Officials Meeting and will accompany the Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise Yue, to the Eighth APEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for November 22 and 23. He will also accompany the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, to the Fourth APEC Economic Leaders Meeting to be held in Subic on November 25.
Member economies of APEC are 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 Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the United States.
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Man Kam To Food Control Office officially opened
The setting up of the new Man Kam To Food Control Office has strengthened the surveillance on imported food items from China and minimised the risk of the public being affected by pesticide contaminated vegetables, the Director of Health, Dr Margaret Chan said today (Monday).
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the department's new Man Kam To Food Control Office, Dr Margaret Chan said: "Since the office came into operation in February this year, no poisoning case related to pesticide contaminated vegetables has been reported.'
"The success could partly be attributed to the increased surveillance after setting up of the new office and measures taken in China to ensure the safety of vegetables exported to Hong Kong."
Dr Chan pointed out that the number of staff at the border checkpoint had doubled since the setting up of the new office.