Media releases
Wednesday 23 October 2002 - MVT129/2002
Terrorism and Trade High on APEC Agenda
The fight against terrorism and the need to keep forward momentum
in the WTO Doha Round of negotiations were the key issues addressed
by Trade Minister, Mark Vaile on day one of the three-day APEC Ministerial
Meeting and CEO Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Speaking from Los Cabos, Mr Vaile said the APEC Ministerial Meeting
is the first major international meeting since the devastating tragedy
in Bali and the ramifications for the region were clearly a major
concern for all his foreign and trade ministerial colleagues from
the 21 economies of APEC.
"The Bali tragedy underscored the pressing need for APEC to intensify
its individual and joint efforts to defeat terrorism," Mr Vaile said.
"Every day we don't act on every aspect necessary to close the door
on terrorism is another day for those who would commit mass murder
and undermine the economic stability of all the members of APEC, both
developed and developing economies."
"Today I outlined Australia's efforts to counter terrorism in the
region and underlined the need for APEC to move forward decisively
in Los Cabos.
"APEC has done a great deal to address terrorism since Leaders met
in Shanghai last October following the attacks in the US on 11 September
2001. However Bali requires that ministers in Los Cabos help APEC
Leaders give a strong and clear commitment to back up the sense of
outrage and political resolve with a new package of concrete counter-terrorism
measures."
Mr Vaile said that Australia has already committed more than $28
million to help regional neighbours address counter-terrorism, border
control and law enforcement activities.
"We are prepared to look at how we can build on these efforts to
ensure no time is wasted in the fight against terrorism."
APEC Ministers also discussed the prospects for the Doha Round of
WTO negotiations with Dr Supachai, the Director-General of the WTO.
"I underlined the need for Ministers to be closely involved to provide
the political momentum necessary to bring the Round to a close on-time
in 2005.
"It was encouraging that my colleagues recognised the need for agriculture
to be at the centre of Doha Round outcomes if an acceptable overall
result is to be achieved.
"In particular I stressed the need to ensure that we met all of the
deadlines and schedules in the lead-up to the 5th WTO Ministerial
Conference next year in Cancun, Mexico. The Mini-Ministerial which
I will host in Sydney next month will be an important contribution
to achieving this outcome in Cancun.
Mr Vaile also announced the launch of a new $3 million Australian
Regional WTO Capacity Building Project to assist regional developing
countries participate in the WTO.
Media Contact: Mark Croxford +61 02 6277 7420
Local Date:
Friday, 05-Dec-2008 13:26:43 EST
