24-11-2020 | 15:03 PM
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members held a virtual ministerial meeting.
During the meeting, representatives pledged to promote free and fair markets and investment in order to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This ministerial meeting took place in the run-up to the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting held on 20 November 2020. The Bogor APEC priorities are one of its flagship programmes and the deadline for the 2020 goals was set.
Bogor Goals:
When APEC leaders met in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, they introduced long-term free and open trade and investment.
The deadline for the completion of the Bogor targets has been set as 2020. The Bogor goals were not aimed at individual countries. However it provided guidelines to Member States on the adoption of bilateral, multilateral and unilateral policies.
The policies introduced were aligned with the principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Exchange (GATT) and also with those of the GATT successors.
India and APEC:
India had qualified for membership of the APEC. APEC has agreed not to allow India, as India does not border the Pacific Ocean.
The remaining 21 members of the APEC border the Pacific Ocean. However, India has obtained funding from Japan, the USA, Australia and Papua Guinea to become a full-time participant. India became an APEC Observer in 2011.
About APEC:
APEC is an economic group founded in 1989. The key goal of its establishment was to encourage free trade and sustainable growth in the Pacific Rim countries. It also seeks to improve the interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies. Collectively, APEC accounts for 50% of world trade and 57% of world GDP.
The formation of the APEC was supported by the European Union and the now defunct North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA).
