Building a Prosperous Asia-Pacific through Free and Open Trade and Investment

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was established in 1989 to capitalise on the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies. By facilitating economic growth, intensifying economic and technical cooperation and enhancing a sense of community, APEC aims to create greater prosperity for the people of the region.

APEC is a unique forum, operating on the basis of open dialogue and respect for the views of all participants. There are no binding commitments; compliance is achieved through discussion and mutual support in the form of economic and technical cooperation. In APEC, all economies have an equal say and decision-making is reached by consensus.

Since its inception, APEC has grown to become one of the world's most important regional groupings. Its 21 member economies are home to more than 2.7 billion people and represent approximately 55 percent of world GDP and 49 percent of world trade. (Source: The World Bank and The APEC Region Trade and Investment 2006)

APEC is the most economically dynamic region in the world. Building on the five-year target set in Shanghai in 2001 to reduce trade transaction costs by 5 percent, APEC member economies have targeted a further 5 percent reduction by 2010.

The forum constantly adapts itself to enable members to discuss important new economic challenges. These include facilitating electronic commerce, reducing the digital divide, countering terrorism, bringing about structural policy reform and addressing climate change.

What are APEC’s Goals?

In 1989, the founding members of APEC developed three objectives –

• To develop and strengthen the multilateral trading system;
• To increase the interdependence and prosperity of member economies; and
• To promote sustainable economic growth.

APEC's vision was further defined in 1994, when APEC Leaders committed to the 'Bogor Goals' of free and open trade in the region.

Recognising the differing levels of development among member economies, the Leaders set two broad timetables. The goal of free and open trade will be achieved by industrialised economies no later than 2010, and by developing economies no later than 2020. It is a voluntary commitment, based on good faith and a pledge of best endeavor.

APEC also works to create an environment for the secure and efficient movement of goods, services and people across borders in the region through policy alignment and economic and technical cooperation. This cooperation also helps to ensure that the people of the APEC region have access to training and technology to take advantage
of more open trade and investment.

Download APEC at a Glance, 2008

PDF format, 500KB, 8Pages.

For general information about APEC, please contact -

APEC Secretariat
35 Heng Mui Keng Terrace,
Singapore 119616
Telephone Number: (65) 6775 6012
Facsimile Number: (65) 6775 6013
Website: www.apec.org

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Add Comment