APEC Canada 1997

APEC Canada 1997
 Australia
Prime Minister John Howard
 Brunei Darussalam
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
 Canada
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
 Chile
President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
 People's Republic of China
President Jiang Zemin
 Hong Kong
Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa
 Indonesia
President Suharto
 Japan
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
 Republic of Korea
President Kim Young-sam
 Malaysia
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
 Mexico
President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
 New Zealand
Prime Minister Jim Bolger
 Papua New Guinea
Prime Minister Bill Skate
 Philippines (Officially The Republic of the Philippines)
President Fidel V. Ramos
 Singapore
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
 Republic of China (Officially Chinese Taipei)[1]
President Chen Shui-bian
 Thailand
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
 United States
President Bill Clinton

APEC Canada 1997 was a series of meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver. It was the fifth APEC meeting in history and the second held in the Americas. Though discussions also involved the admittance of Peru, Russian and Vietnam into the organization (as of 2010 these countries remained APEC's newest members), the meeting focused on development in Asia-Pacific countries and its implications for the world's economy. The role of the IMF was also discussed, as was the need to strengthen global cooperation with respect to economic activity (EVSL initiative - tariffs), customs procedures and emergencies.[2] 47% of world trade is done by APEC members.[3] The first day of the meeting was November 24, 1997.

Contents

History

The organization first met as a forum in 1989, in an informal meeting meant to facilitate dialogue between member nations (originally 12 including 3 G8 countries). It was intended to liberalize international trade. APEC's three pillars were delineated at the 1995 meeting in Japan.[3]

Expansion

Three new members Russia, Peru and Vietnam, were admitted under a ten-year integration initiative (a decision agreed in 1997 but not converted into formal admission for the new members until 1998).[4] The most recent additions prior to this had been those of Mexico, Papua New Guinea, and Chile in 1991.[3]

1997 was also the year Russia entered the G7, creating the G8.

Purpose and Goals

The group ratified a tariff reduction procedure, abbreviated EVSL, which had as its goal lower tariffs across 15 economic sectors; the process regarded nine of these as priority areas.[3]

Goals were set regarding financial stability and how it could be achieved through a stronger and more relevant International Monetary Fund. Customs procedures were also discussed, with the goal of improving clearances by 2000.[5]

Criticism

An APEC report, compiled by inquiry commissioner Ted Hughes and including testimonies from over 150 witnesses, alleged that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used excessive force on protesters during the meeting.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dr. Dan Chang Discusses "Reducing the Digital Divide" for the APEC e-Newsletter". 2008-07-04. http://www.nchc.org.tw/en/news/index.php?NEWS_ID=30. 
  2. ^ "APEC 1997 Summit - Vancouver, Canada". http://www.international.gc.ca/apec/dec_vancouver_1997.aspx. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 
  3. ^ a b c d "CBC News Indepth:APEC". 2004-11-19. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/apec/. 
  4. ^ "APEC 2001 in China". 2001. http://www.china.org.cn/e-apec/apec/6.htm. 
  5. ^ "APEC and the 1997 Summit in Vancouver". December 1997. http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/492. 
  6. ^ "RCMP slammed in APEC report". CBC News. 2001-08-07. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/08/07/apec010807.html. 
Preceded by
APEC Philippines 1996
APEC meetings
1997
Succeeded by
APEC Malaysia 1998