APEC delegations discuss plans for econ growth of APR.

15/9 Tass 80

TOKYO, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - Delegations of participants in the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, including Russia, met in
the city of Sendai in the north of Honshu Island on Wednesday and began to
discuss plans for economic growth of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).
An official at the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Japan has told
Itar-Tass that discussions involving experts of the Foreign Ministry and
other agencies of the RF will continue until September 26. At the
concluding stage the results of discussions will be summed up at the level
of senior officials -- chief coordinators from each of the economies.
After the meeting, the senior officials are expected to hold a
concluding meeting in Yokohama early in November on the very eve of an
APEC summit.
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials have pointed out that during
discussions in Sendai the experts are to make an estimate of the work done
at APEC to attain the Bogor Goals, which are to be achieved within a
period ending in 2020. The goals were decided upon in Bogor, Indonesia, in
1994 and envisage the establishment of a system of free trade and
investment activities in the region.
During the coming week, a separate seminar is to be held in Sendai on
the initiative of Japanese organizers on matters aimed at creating within
the APEC framework more favourable conditions for the implementation of
investment programmes.
The APEC comprises 21 economies of APR, including those of the RF,
China, the United States, South Korea, and Japan. On the whole, they
account for a half of the world's gross domestic product. Russia has been
participating in the forum since 1997 and is to host an APEC summit in
Vladivostok, on the Russkiy (Russian) Island in 2012 for the first time.
-0-pop