1. The 2009 APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) was held from November 11–12 in Singapore.
- Mr. Kim Jong-hoon, Korea’s Minister for Trade, participated in the meeting along with
Ministers for Trade and for Foreign Affairs from 20 other member economies as well as
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.
※ APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held from November 14-15 in Singapore.
2. The Ministers discussed △ inclusive and sustainable growth as the post-crisis development
schemes, △ ways to accelerate the WTO DDA negotiations and resist protectionism and
△ issues on economic integration of the Asia-Pacific region.
3. The Ministers agreed to introduce a specific working programme for inclusive and sustainable
growth by the 2010 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Yokohama, Japan.
ㅇThe Ministers agreed on the key priorities of the inclusive growth agenda for 2010 including
education and support for small-and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the Ministers
adopted the working programme on Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) to promote
trade of environmentally friendly goods and services within the region.
Working Programme on Environmental Goods and Services (EGS)
∘ Study the Good Regulatory Practices (GRP) on EGS.
∘ Survey on EGS barriers and promoters.
∘ Hold an EGS workshop.
∘ Establish a database to facilitate information sharing on EGS.
4. In an effort to resist protectionism, the Ministers reviewed trade restricting measures that
were newly introduced by member economies in 2009. The Ministers agreed that although
such measures do not yet draw significant concern they still need to be restrained to hasten
the global economic recovery.
ㅇ The Ministers also agreed on the need to accelerate the WTO DDA negotiations in order
to reach a conclusion by 2010 as agreed at the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit.
ㅇ Minister Kim Jong-hoon emphasized the need for the Trade Ministers to more actively
engage in the negotiations so as to achieve substantial progress by early 2010. Other
Ministers followed suit.
5. The Ministers endorsed a pathfinder programme of the “Self-certification of Certificates of
Origin,” which will significantly reduce transaction costs and bring substantial benefits to
businesses in the region. A total of seven countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea,
New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S. agreed to participate in the first round.
ㅇ Furthermore, the Ministers sought ways to facilitate the discussions on the Free Trade Area
of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as part of the effort to accelerate regional economic integration.
6. At AMM this year, Korea contributed to strengthening APEC’s primary agenda of trade and
investment liberalization by actively participating in the discussions on outstanding issues such
as the WTO Doha Development Agenda and the “Self-certification of Certificates of Origin.”
With Japan taking over the APEC chairmanship in 2010 and the U.S. in 2011, Korea anticipates
further progress in the APEC process, and will continue its active participation.
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT
*unofficial translation