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APEC delegation hits Mexican resort

Taiwan's APEC delegation was expected to arrive in Los Cabos, Mexico, yesterday to participate in the annual APEC leaders' summit that is slated to kick off today. The presence of a Taiwan delegation this year signals a welcome improvement after its absence from last year's summit in Shanghai.

Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department of international organizations and Francis Liang (梁國新), deputy director of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, met with the US' senior APEC official, Larry Greenwood, for bilateral talks last Saturday -- following their arrival in the city on the same day.

The ministry said the three had discussed proposed declarations that would be co-signed by leaders at the APEC summit.

Apart from meeting with their American counterparts, they will continue holding bilateral talks with other member countries' senior officials to discuss mutual issues.

Taiwan's delegation for the APEC ministerial meeting, led by Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) and Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (李庸三) was scheduled to arrive yesterday afternoon. They are scheduled to take part in the top-level summit sessions from tomorrow to Thursday and to have discussions with some of their counterparts from APEC member states.

Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) representative, is scheduled to give a speech entitled "The Future of Energy" at a summit session on Friday.

This marks the first time ever that a Taiwan envoy has been invited to deliver a keynote speech at any APEC leaders' summit.

Los Cabos, a small resort town at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, was caught up this weekend in last-minute preparations for the APEC meetings, where top officials from 21 member economies were set to kick off the week-long event yesterday.

After joining the economic grouping in 1993, Mexico has now become the first member in Latin America to host the activity since the organization was launched in 1989. Other member economies in Latin American include Peru and Chili, which will host the meeting in 2004.

Known for its secluded beaches and waters teeming with fish, the Baja region has grown into a major resort destination over the past three decades.

By choosing Los Cabos to host the grand event, the Mexican government aims to boost the tourism of the tiny town of only 100,000 residents.

The city is two-and-a-half hours by air from Los Angeles, and two hours from the capital, Mexico City.

According to Susan Carol, the publisher of Destino Los Cabos, a local newspaper, the APEC gathering will be the largest group ever to visit Los Cabos.

Over 20,000 people are expected when the leaders of the 21 economies, their aides, security teams, the press and top industry CEOs from all economies gather in Mexico's showcase resort area.
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