TNAG-2241-FCO40-3222-Asia-Pacific-Economic-Cooperation-(APEC)-1991 — Page 8

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INFO ROUTINE BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BANGKOK, CANBERRA, HONG KONG INFO ROUTINE JLG HONG KONG, JAKARTA, KUALA LUMPUR, MANILA, OTTAWA INFO ROUTINE PEKING, SINGAPORE, TOKYO, WASHINGTON, WELLINGTON INFO ROUTINE ACTOR

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APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING, 12-14 NOVEMBER

SUMMARY

1 . A MEETING OF FORM RATHER THAN SUBSTANCE, WITH MOST MAJOR ISSUES EITHER SIDE-STEPPED OR UNRESOLVED. MORE CONCENTRATION ON NON-APEC ISSUES THAN ON PROGRESS TOWARDS PUTTING MORE FLESH ON THE APEC STRUCTURE.

DETAIL

2.

MFA ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR POLICY PLANNING, LEE SEE-YOUNG, BRIEFED THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ON LAST WEEK'S APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING ON 19 NOVEMBER. A JOINT STATEMENT, NOT PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED, WAS CIRCULATED (COPY BY BAG TO ERD, FCO ONLY). LEE SAID THAT DISCUSSION HAD CONCENTRATED ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

A) CONSOLIDATION OF APEC'S PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES

B) REGIONAL ECONOMIC TRENDS AND ISSUES

C) URUGUAY ROUND AND TRADE LIBERALISATION IN THE REGION

D) FUTURE WORK PROGRAMME

E) FUTURE STEPS FOR APEC.

3.

THE KEY ISSUES WERE THE QUESTION OF TRADE LIBERALISATION AND THE FUTURE ROLE AND DIRECTION OF APEC. THE LOCAL PRESS REPORTED THAT THERE HAD BEEN MAJOR DIFFERENCES OVER THE PROMINENCE GIVEN TO THE URUGUAY ROUND. A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES, OF WHICH KOREA WAS ONE, HAD ARGUED THAT MENTION OF THE URUGUAY ROUND SHOULD BE CONFINED T THE JOINT DECLARATION WHILE OTHERS, LED BY CANADA AND SUPPORTED BY

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