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At present, the participants of the forum "Asia-Pacific economic cooperation» (APEC) are 21 countries and territories of the Asia-Pacific region.
The governing bodies of the forum are the annual informal summits of the heads of state and government and the meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of trade timed to coincide with them. There are also sectoral ministerial meetings and quarterly senior meetings throughout the year. officials APEC.
Committees, subcommittees, working groups and other structural subdivisions of the forum (more than 50 in total) deal with the issues of specific areas of interaction in APEC.
Tasks Russian Federation in APEC are enshrined in the comprehensive action plan of the Russian Federation in the APEC forum in 2016-2018 No. 4004p-P2, approved by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev on June 9, 2016.
2012 was held under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation APEC forum. The APEC platform was used to promote Russian interests in the development and use of modern information and communication technologies, as well as to intensify cooperation with the states of the Asian Pacific region in the interests of developing ICT in Russia.
The activities of the Russian Ministry of Communications in APEC continue and are aimed at developing Russian initiatives put forward during the year of Russia's chairmanship in the APEC forum in 2012 to form common approaches to creating a secure and trusted environment on the Internet in economies.
History of APEC
The APEC Forum was established in 1989 at the initiative of Australian Prime Minister John Hawke at a meeting of the ministers of economy and foreign affairs of twelve countries of the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, USA, Thailand , Philippines and Japan.
In 1991, the Chinese People's Republic, as well as, as independent members, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei, under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, respectively, a special administrative region and a province of China.
Mexico and Papua New Guinea joined APEC in 1993, and Chile in 1994.
In 1998, simultaneously with the entry into APEC of Russia, Vietnam and Peru, a decision was made to introduce a ten-year moratorium on further expansion of the number of forum participants (extended in 2008).
In 1993, the First APEC Summit was held in Seattle (USA) and since then, meetings of APEC economic leaders have been held annually.
Main results of APEC-2016
During the year of Peru's APEC Presidency and in preparation for the APEC 2016 summit, the focus of the economies of the Asia-Pacific region was focused on the following issues.
1. Deglobalization. The slowdown in the global economy and international trade, the lack of progress in the Doha Round of the WTO, Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump in the US elections have called into question the feasibility of not only globalization, but also the expansion of free trade within the emerging partnerships.
In the current situation, the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the completion of negotiations on the Chinese project (RCEP) or the Transatlantic Partnership are unlikely in the near future. Against this background, a discrepancy between trade policy (the agenda of partnerships and regional integration) and the demands of society has emerged. The involvement of citizens, small and medium-sized companies in international trade, an inclusive trade policy, and the provision of development tasks are coming to the fore.
2. Digital economy. The most dynamic issue, the discussion of which is rapidly gaining momentum in APEC and other venues (G20, WTO), has become the digital economy and trade. This agenda is actively promoted by:
Considerable attention is paid to the protection of intellectual property and personal data. Other countries, including Russia, are raising questions information security, digital monopoly and excessive concentration of data in developed countries (USA and EU), issues of consumer protection and placement of appropriate servers, issues of forming open data arrays.
Presumably, the discussion of these issues will be a key issue on the national and international agenda of the world's leading economies in the coming years.
3. Formation of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (AFTA). An important outcome of APEC-2016 was the completion of the Collective Strategic Study of the Opportunities for FTAAP Implementation and the consolidation of recommendations for further actions to implement FTAAP in the Declaration.
The Russian achievement in this matter was the recognition of the importance of the Eurasian Economic Union in the process of forming FTAAP and the need to establish cooperation with regional economic blocs. This was due, among other things, to the Russia-ASEAN summit held in May in Sochi and the entry into force of the agreement with Vietnam.
4. Roadmap for the development of trade in services. The result of APEC 2016 was the formation of a roadmap for the development of sectors and trade in services. Initially declared by the initiating economies (Australia, USA), the goal was to open markets and eliminate the maximum number of restrictions. Taking into account the different levels of readiness of APEC economies to open markets, the final document takes into account the need to develop national markets services and improve their competitiveness through improved regulation and gradual opening of markets.
The key targets set by the roadmap until 2025 include reducing restrictions on trade in services and investment, increasing the share of exports of services, expanding mutual trade in services in APEC, and increasing the value added of the service sectors.
Initiation
The intergovernmental forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" was established in November 1989. The Russian Federation has been a member of APEC since 1998.
Goals
Defending the interests of Russia in matters of information and communication technologies and cross-border electronic document management for a wide range business and social services, the development of Russian initiatives to create a prospect for interaction and exchange of experience in the field of ICT, the development of Russian initiatives to use ICT to improve the living standards of socially unprotected segments of the population, and others.
The global context is the solution of the tasks set by the President of the Russian Federation for the formation from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean common economic and human space.
Tasks
Participation in the activities of the working bodies of the APEC forum, such as:
- Conference of Ministers of Communications and Informatization (TELMIN);
- working group on telecommunications and informatization (TEL);
- e-commerce ad hoc group (ECSG).
Implementation of Russian projects and initiatives.
Stages
Meeting of Ministers of Communications and Informatization of the APEC Forum (TELMIN).
The Intergovernmental Forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" (APEC) was founded in November 1989.
Currently, 21 countries and territories of the Asia-Pacific region are its participants: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, USA, Thailand , Taiwan, Philippines, Chile, Japan.
Today, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) is one of the most important international platforms for Russia. First of all, this is confirmed by the figures: the share of APEC economies from the world market accounts for 54% of GDP, 46% of exports, more than 45% of investments, 43.7% of jobs and 33.5% of the total number of international arrivals (according to the results 2016, 414 million tourist trips were registered).
Tourism plays a significant role in APEC, which was repeatedly mentioned in the final documents of the forum. In the Declaration of the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (November 2017, Vietnam), the participants agreed to promote sustainable tourism and explore its potential for the development of remote areas as important component the APEC Strategy for Economic Growth and a tool for enhancing human interconnectedness. The document also sets a strategic target of 800 million travelers in the APEC region by 2025 (nearly double the current figure). This intention creates good opportunities to implement one of the primary tasks of Russia in the tourism industry - to increase the export of Russian tourism services to the world market. Considering that the forum brings together twenty-one economies, in particular, large tourism markets (China, Japan, Korea, USA, etc.), the task becomes more important. Interaction is carried out within the framework of the Working Group on Tourism, which was established in 1997 and is designed to create favorable conditions for the development of tourism in the region. The activity of the Federal Agency for Tourism on this site increased markedly in the year of Russia's chairmanship in APEC in 2012. The agency has developed the Asia-Pacific Tourism Safety Initiative, an official document of APEC, which provides for the development of unified specific measures that meet the interests of APEC economies in ensuring travel safety.
As a follow-up to the Initiative, Rostourism in 2013 prepared the project “Program ‘Smart Traveler’ Ensuring the safety of tourists and facilitating international travel in the APEC region”. ‘Smart Traveler’ Programs Based on the Latest Advances information technologies, allow travelers to stay in touch with their home country and receive support in the event of an emergency, including natural disasters and civil unrest. In addition, each tourist can find important information on a foreign tour (entry, departure, laws, health care, etc.) on a specially created portal, register their contact details and a foreign travel program and / or subscribe to recommendations for traveling abroad. To date, the program has been successfully implemented by a number of countries. In Russia, the program was launched by the Russian Foreign Ministry in the form mobile application"Foreign Assistant"
In 2017, Rostourism continued its project activities in the current direction for the economies of the region.
In June 2017 was presented Russian project"Analysis of prospects sustainable development tourism in remote areas of the APEC economies”. The topic was borrowed from the comprehensive Initiative of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development “Bridging the economic development gap and integrating remote territories for the sustainable growth of the APEC region”, which was presented at the Meeting of Senior Officials in Vietnam in February 2017.
The development of remote territories is undoubtedly a subject of deep interest to the APEC economies, which have a large number of such territories and have a number of social and economic problems, which hinder the growth of their tourist attractiveness and, as a result, the attraction of tourist flows.
The Russian idea was supported by a number of APEC economies; the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia acted as co-sponsors of the tourism project.
At the end of the second project session, the document was included in the list of 30 projects submitted for consideration to the APEC Budget Committee (a total of 123 project applications were submitted at the session), and in December 2017 the project received final confirmation of funding.
The project plans to assemble an international team of experts from APEC economies and international organizations. The study itself will consist of the following steps:
- 1. Overview of remote areas of the APEC economies: identification distinctive features and existing problems
- 2. Development of recommendations for the development of the tourism potential of these territories;
- 3. Organization of the exchange of experience between the APEC economies through a seminar.
And of a regional type, within which the business sector plays a central role. One such organization is APEC. The abbreviation stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
History of creation
The APEC association began its existence in 1989. The founding states of the association had an identical desire - to improve the standard of living in the Asia-Pacific region by stimulating the economy and strengthening trade.
The community was started by programs of industry and trade negotiations. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation includes 21 states. These are Australia and Brunei, Vietnam and Hong Kong, Indonesia with Canada, China and the Republic of Korea, Malaysia with Mexico, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, Peru and Russia, Singapore and the USA, Thailand and Taiwan, the Philippines, as well as Chile and Japan.
After Russia, Peru and Vietnam were included in the list of countries participating in the association (in 1997), the community introduced a 10-year moratorium on the prospective expansion of the list of community members.
The origins of the formation of the association
The APEC association, whose decoding sounds like the Asia-Pacific, was initially considered not as an association of states, but as a tandem of economies. The organization was originally aimed at solving not political, but exclusively economic issues. APEC was formed as a forum that did not have and behind which there was no bureaucracy. Even today, the association's secretariat, located in Singapore, includes 23 diplomats. Each of the representatives was chosen by the economies participating in the project. The secretariat also employs 20 local employees. Compared to the WTO, APEC, as explained above, is not based on organizational formation rules that provide for enforcement powers in trade disputes.
Partnership Specifics
The specificity of the work lies in consulting and striving to reach consensus. The process of partnership between states is based on the open exchange of information between countries and the public. The community is based on the collective and individual action plans created by the members of the association, which help to achieve the goals of each of the states. The plans include detailed data on 15 sectors of activity. Among them are tariffs and tariff-free measures, services and investment, standards and compliance, customs processes and intellectual property rights protection, competitive policy and government orders, release rules and direct dispute mediation, business mobility, information collection and concentration.
APEC Global Role
Asia-Pacific economic cooperation covers about 40% of the population. The total GDP of all participating countries exceeds $16 trillion, which corresponds to 60% of world GDP. APEC leaders have become the main vehicle for promoting open trade and spearheading economic cooperation in the region. The participating countries account for at least 42% of the total volume of world trade. The role of the group has greatly increased over the past 20 years. Now community members are active:
- implement trade liberalization;
- contribute to anyone;
- provide mutually beneficial economic and technical partnership;
- dealing with youth and women's issues.
General ideas and preferences
APEC, which has already been deciphered above, is based on the assertion that business is the basis of work, and in order to achieve success, it must be stimulated. At the first stages of the community's work, systematic consultations were held with the best representatives of the business segment in the Asia-Pacific region.
In 1995, a decision was made to create a Business Advisory Council, which became the key body for the work of the entire community. All APEC member countries appointed at least 3 people to the council who could express the interests of national business. The annual ABAC summits are held in order for the representatives of the states to present generalized recommendations on the following issues:
- implementation of the program documentation of the community, which is associated with the liberalization of not only the trade, but also the investment regime;
- development of economic and technical partnership;
- identifying the community's positions on business issues.
Each of the reports is formed not separately by each state, but in close cooperation with experts from state structures.
First effective steps
APEC, whose list of countries is constantly updated, made the first productive decisions in 1990-2000. Emphasis was placed on simplifying visa formalities for business people from the economies of the member states of the association. Barriers to the free movement of not only goods, but also investments were reduced. The expansion of strategic initiatives in the field of business partnerships was stimulated. The ABAC Task Force has begun active efforts to integrate material standards acceptable to the international community. Undertaken active actions towards building capacity and strengthening the financial system at the international level.
A task force of experts within the community is working hard to activate e-commerce. A set of measures was developed to reduce the "digital gap" between the APEC economies. The list of countries participating in the association allows you to see how different the level of integration of virtual technologies into the business sphere was in different states. Today this problem has been completely solved.
First summit in Russia
In May 2001, the first meeting was held in Moscow as part of the APEC Forum. It was attended by 100 representatives of the Asia-Pacific business elite. Russia, for its part, initiated the creation of the "APEC Business Club", which includes more than 50 large-scale domestic firms and banks that are oriented towards the Asia-Pacific region in their activities.
According to the President of Russia, the country intends to take an active part in the development of the community's activities, including with the adaptation of the country's legal framework while developing democracy in parallel. The government of a great state is well aware that, within the framework of a dynamically developing trading region, it has excellent prospects for prosperity.
Summit 2014 in Beijing
The last APEC summit took place in November 2014 in Beijing. The outcome of the negotiations was a 24-page declaration. The leaders of the participating states decided to engage in stimulation and continue to actively work towards the rejection of protectionism.
The APEC summit in Beijing became the basis for the members of the association to continue the fight against the fragmentation of regional trade. The community has set its sights on the development of Internet financing. Moreover, an almost unanimous agreement was adopted on the development of areas of partnership with which in the future should prevent the spread of the Ebola epidemic.
The APEC summit in Beijing was focused on resolving the issue of development during the crisis period. The emphasis was placed on the fact that each country should independently look for driving forces for its economy.
Forum Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
date of creation: November 1989
Number of members: 21
The Intergovernmental Forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" (APEC) is the leading international organization dedicated to strengthening economic integration, expanding trade, enhancing economic growth and increasing employment in the Asia-Pacific region. The forum was formed in November 1989. Currently, 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific region are its participants. Observer status is held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the Pacific Islands Forum.
In 2017, APEC member economies accounted for 58.8% of global GDP, 49.7% of international trade turnover and about 40% of the world's population.
The governing bodies of the forum are the annual informal summits of heads of state and government and the joint meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of trade timed to coincide with them. There are also sectoral ministerial meetings and meetings of senior APEC officials throughout the year.
Committees, subcommittees, working groups and other structural divisions of the forum, of which there are more than 50 in total, deal with the issues of specific areas of interaction in APEC.
In APEC there is an institution of chairman, acting on a rotational basis (traditionally, the host country of the summit). The chair economy determines the priority areas of the forum's work for the period of its chairmanship. The implementation of administrative and technical functions is entrusted to the Forum Secretariat, located in Singapore.
The business community of the region is represented by the Business Advisory Council (BCC) operating under APEC, which was established in November 1995 in order to increase the efficiency of interaction between government structures and the business community. The ABAC consists of three representatives of large national companies from each economy of the forum, appointed by the heads of state and government.
Activities within the framework of the APEC forum, the fundamental principles of which are consensus and voluntariness, are built on the basis of a number of policy documents. The main one is the Bogor Declaration adopted in 1994 in the city of Bogor (Indonesia), which aims to form a system of free and open trade and investment in the region by 2010 for developed economies and by 2020 for developing economies (the so-called. Bogor goals).
Since the summits in Shanghai, China (2001) and Los Cabos, Mexico (2002), the fight against international terrorism primarily through economic and financial means. Attention is also paid to other aspects of security, including in the areas of trade, finance, energy, health, transport, as well as preparedness for emergencies, both natural and technogenic character liquidation of the consequences of these disasters. The issues of cooperation on this - political - track are united in the block of issues of "ensuring the security of the individual."
In the year of Japan's APEC Presidency (2010), an important APEC policy document, the APEC Growth Strategy, was adopted, which describes the 5 attributes of growth (balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth) necessary for sustainable economic development in the constantly changing conditions of the modern economy.
During the US APEC Chairmanship in 2011, the forum focused on delivering results in strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade, supporting green growth, and enhancing regulatory cooperation.
Within the framework of Russia's chairmanship in APEC in 2012, the work of the forum was built in such areas as the liberalization of trade and investment, regional economic integration, food security, strengthening transport and logistics chains, and ensuring innovative growth.
In 2013, Indonesia became the chairman of APEC. Among its main priorities, Indonesia identified such areas as achieving the Bogor goals, achieving sustainable economic growth on an equitable basis, and developing APEC interconnectedness.
In 2014, China, as APEC chairman, focused on the development of the multilateral trading system. In this regard, the three priorities of the chairmanship were to strengthen regional economic integration, strengthen the comprehensive interconnectedness of the APEC economies and develop infrastructure in the region, and achieve growth through innovative development.
During the 2015 APEC Presidency, the Philippines committed to promoting quality growth by strengthening regional economic integration, encouraging the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the regional and global economy, investing in human capital, and building balanced and sustainable communities.
In 2016, under the chairmanship of Peru, work to promote quality growth and development human potential was continued. Such areas as support for regional economic integration, modernization of small and medium-sized enterprises, development of human capital and strengthening of the food market in the region were chosen as priorities.
In 2017, under the chairmanship of Vietnam, the main focus of the APEC Forum was on structural reforms to ensure a sustainable economic future in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and globalization. Priority areas work - ensuring sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth, deepening regional economic integration, increasing the competitiveness and innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the digital age and strengthening food security and developing sustainable Agriculture in the face of climate change.
Papua New Guinea's priorities in 2018 are: strengthening connectivity and deepening economic integration in the region; promoting sustainable and inclusive growth; promoting structural reforms for development inclusiveness. These priorities are united by the motto "Through the development of opportunities for inclusive development - to the digital future."
Chile takes over the APEC chairmanship in 2019.
Taking into account the specifics due to the participation of territories in APEC (Taiwan, Hong Kong), it is customary to call its members “economy” in the forum: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, USA, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Chile and Japan.
In 1998, simultaneously with the entry into APEC of Russia, Vietnam and Peru, a decision was made to introduce a moratorium on further expansion of the forum's membership. India, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Macao, Mongolia, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka and Ecuador are showing interest in joining the APEC forum.
The forum, called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), was formed during the conference of ministers of foreign affairs and economy of 12 Asia-Pacific countries, held on November 6-7, 1989 in Canberra (Australia). Its main goals are to deepen economic integration, expand trade, and strengthen economic growth in the region.
APEC cannot formally be called an organization because it does not have a charter and acts as an international advisory body to discuss economic issues. The work of APEC is built on the basis of consensus.
Membership
There are currently 19 countries in APEC. Among them are 12 founding states - Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, USA, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea, Japan - as well as China (entered in 1991), Mexico and Papua New Guinea (1993), Chile (1994), Russia, Vietnam and Peru (1998). Since 1991, two Chinese territories have also joined APEC - Xianggang (Hong Kong) and Taiwan. Taking into account the specifics of the composition, which includes not only states, but also territories, it is customary to designate APEC participants by the term "economy".
In 1998, after the admission of Russia, Peru and Vietnam to APEC, a ten-year moratorium on further expansion of the forum came into force. In 2007, the moratorium was extended and is still in effect.
More than ten Asian countries have officially applied to join APEC and Latin America, including India, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Pakistan.
The share of APEC members accounts for approximately 59% of the planet's GDP and 49% of world trade, about 2.8 billion people live on their territory.
Structure
The governing bodies of the forum are the annual summits of heads of state and government (held since 1993 in different countries) and the meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs and trade timed to coincide with them. According to the established tradition, at the opening ceremony of the summit, its participants put on costumes created on the basis of the national clothes of the host country of the forum; the leaders of the participating countries also appear in them at the gala dinner, which takes place on the first day of the summit. This tradition is designed to emphasize the diversity of cultures in the Asia-Pacific region, to create a relaxed atmosphere of communication. Among the most colorful costumes in which the participants of the forum were shown were Peruvian ponchos and Vietnamese "ao dai".
There are also sectoral ministerial meetings and quarterly APEC Senior Officials' Meetings throughout the year.
Administrative and technical functions are performed by the secretariat established in 1992 and headquartered in Singapore. The duties of the chairman of the forum are carried out by the country in which the next summit will be held. The APEC chairman changes annually on a rotational basis, while there is no strict principle of rotation.
The issues of economic interaction between member countries are dealt with by the Committee on Trade and Investment, the Economic Committee, as well as numerous working groups. In total, there are about 40 structural subdivisions of the forum.
agenda
After the Asian financial crisis in 1997, APEC began to pay close attention to the problems of strengthening financial security. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the agenda of the summits included the topic of combating international terrorism, primarily by economic and financial means. AT recent times Increasing attention is also being paid to other aspects of security, including in trade, finance, energy, health and transport.
Russia and APEC
Russia filed an official application to join APEC on March 17, 1995. The decision to join the Russian Federation to this international structure was adopted at the Vancouver summit on November 25, 1997. The official entry took place on November 14, 1998 in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) at a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Membership in APEC gives Russia, in particular, the opportunity to use the mechanisms of the forum to stimulate the country's economic development, primarily in the regions of Siberia and the Far East. in Russian Far East important events of the APEC working bodies were repeatedly held. Among them is the large-scale APEC investment fair in 2002, as well as meetings of the forum's specialized working groups on transport, energy, industrial science and technology. In 2012, the next APEC summit was held in Vladivostok. The final declaration noted the need for further trade liberalization, economic integration, improved food security, innovation, development of transport and logistics.
Russia is one of the main developers of the 2006 APEC initiative on the development of a dialogue between cultures and religions - a dialogue among civilizations. In addition, the Russian Federation acted as one of the initiators of the development of cooperation in order to counter natural and man-made emergencies and develop a system for the mutual provision of information and coordinated actions in the event of epidemics and pandemics.
