Taiwan has volunteered to be reviewed for the progress it has made toward the Bogor Goals of achieving free and open trade and investment, in a move that showed the country’s “fearlessness” in the assessment of its efforts to pursue liberalization, MiTAC International Inc (神達電腦) chairman Matthew Miao (苗豐強) said yesterday.
“[The move] means that Taiwan would like to take the initiative to rise to the challenges in having its liberalization index assessed and further removing barriers to liberalization,” Miao said.
Miao, along with HTC Corp (宏達電) chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) and Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) chairman Tsai Hung-tu (蔡宏圖) — the nation’s three representatives to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) — called a press conference ahead of ABAC’s second meeting of the year, which will be held in Taipei next week.
It is the third time Taiwan will host such a meeting since 1995, when ABAC, which conducts four meetings a year to propose recommendations for the year-end APEC summit, was established.
The major theme for this year’s ABAC meeting is “Working toward sustainable growth for all.”
Five ABAC working groups will discuss topics related to strengthening economies for balanced growth, advancing regional economic integration and enhancing economic growth in harmony with the environment.
Miao attached great importance to the APEC meeting this year as leaders of the 21 APEC members will set a timetable to achieve a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, identified as its long-term goal in 2006.
According to a declaration by APEC leaders in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, known as the Bogor Goals, five industrialized economies — the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — should have achieved free and open trade by this year, and developing countries by 2020.
To this end, the five industrialized economies have to undergo an assessment of their ability to reach the goal this year.
Taiwan recently volunteered to be subject to the review, following seven other developing members: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, China, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
Wang said that the Knowledge-Based Growth initiative would help drive regional growth by using the information and communication technology industry and bring in more opportunities for Taiwan.
The ABAC meeting in Taipei will host about 170 delegates and guests from APEC member countries.
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