VIETNAM: Breaking down barriers to global and regional trade top the agenda for Ministers at an Asia-Pacific forum

Breaking down barriers to global and regional trade topped the agenda on Thursday (November 16) for ministers of 21 Pacific rim economies gathered in Vietnam for the biggest party Hanoi has ever thrown. The United States wanted security issues to also stay on the table, asking Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum members to keep their financial systems from being exploited by weapons proliferators in a pointed reference to North Korea. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hit the ground running after her arrival in the capital city in the early hours of Thursday (November 16). After breakfast meetings with ministers including Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, she sat down with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem for a working lunch. Rice is in Hanoi in advance of President George W. Bush, who is due to arrive on Friday (November 17) along with most of the other leaders on his first trip abroad since his Republican party lost its majority in congressional elections last week. But on Thursday (November 16) the focus is mostly on trade. In a draft of the ministerial statement obtained by Reuters, APEC members - who together account for nearly half of world trade - put pressure on their own leaders to do whatever it takes to get the Doha round of trade talks back on track. The Doha round of global trade talks collapsed in July amid acrimony over slashing farm subsidies. Faced with an increasingly complicated network of bilateral trade relationships in the region, the ministers agreed in Hanoi to six templates, or "model measures", for free trade agreements (FTAs). APEC business leaders have been concerned about the proliferation of mini-pacts they say add costs to doing business in the region. At least 50 FTAs have been agreed or are under discussion among countries represented at APEC, experts say. Vietnam's trade minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said a pan-Pacific free trade deal was not going to materialise any time soon. "At the end, all ministers agreed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) goal is a goal for the future," Truong told a news conference. World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy also briefed the meeting of ministers. Truong applauded the role he played, and the commitment of all the ministers. "Pascal Lamy will bring news of the political will of the ministerial meeting here back to Geneva. And regarding the Doha round of talks, the ministers showed their strong commitment here. But I told them it is even better if the ministers lead their delegations back at home according to the strong commitment they made here," said Truong. Summit participants are also worried about the potential destabilising effect of North Korea, the impoverished state that recently conducted a nuclear test and has been known to sell missile technology to raise hard currency for its isolated economy. Delegates from Japan, the United States and South Korea have met on the sidelines of the forum to discuss reviving stalled talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. But China has yet to commit to a date. Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived to a red carpet welcome at the airport in Hanoi. But he brought no news of six-party negotiations. Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (pron: lee djah-ow hseeng) would only say he hoped for an early resolution to the crisis. "These are talks that are happening on the sidelines of (APEC). All sides believe that we ought to make common efforts to create the conditions for an early resumption of six-party talks, and reach our goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula as soon as possible," Li told reporters waiting at his hotel. North Korea boycotted the talks - which also include Russia - after the United States started freezing its financial assets around the world on grounds that it was engaging in illegal activities such as money laundering. It agreed to come back to the table - possibly as early as December - after Washington agreed to discuss the curbs.

ITN Source | November 16, 2006

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