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STI makes proposals at Manila APEC Ministerial Meeting
The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise Yue told the Manila Asia- Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting this (Friday) afternoon that Hong Kong was delighted that the Individual Action Plans (IAP) submitted by all 18 member economies contained concrete deliverables on trade liberalisation and business facilitation.
However, she said that it remained imperative for member economies to refine and improve their IAPS progressively over time until the ultimate goal of free and open trade and investment was attained.
"Continuous improvements to and effective implementation of our IAPS are the only means to demonstrate to the world that APEC can really deliver.
"The steps we take may not be big and drastic all the time, but they must be continuous and progressive," she said.
Referring to the requirement for annual reviews of implementation of IAPS, Miss Yue made a proposal at the meeting for APEC Ministers' consideration.
"I propose we instruct our Senior Officials to devise an annual review mechanism with, wherever possible, clear and measurable yardsticks to monitor implementation of our commitments in the IAPs over time.
"This mechanism should be transparent and should facilitate the comparability of IAPs," she said.
Miss Yue further proposed that Senior Officials should solicit input from the business communities and other pertinent private sectors in the review process.
"I look forward to receiving positive review reports from our Senior Officials next year," she added.
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