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| Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 in response to the growing
interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies. From its modest beginning as an informal
Ministerial-level dialogue group with 12 members, APEC has become a formidable regional
forum, especially with the introduction of the annual informal Economic Leaders’
Meeting in 1993. Its goal is to advance economic dynamism and sense of community within
the Asia-Pacific region. Today there are 21 member economies comprising some 2.5 billion people, a combined gross domestic product of over US$18 trillion in 1999 and over 47 percent of world trade. APEC has established itself as the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic and technical cooperation. APEC member economies include: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hongkong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. (In 1997, at Vancouver, Leaders agreed on a ten-year moratorium for accepting new members.) The member economies represent the rich diversity of the region as well as differing levels of economic development. Despite such differences there is a growing sense of common purpose and cooperation aimed at sustained regional and world growth. APEC has come a long way since 1989. It has
built steadily on the efforts of the past and looks forward to further progress. The
initial years of APEC were focused largely on exchanges of views and project-based
initiatives. The concerns were simply to advance the process of Asia-Pacific economic
cooperation and to promote a positive conclusion to the Uruguay Round of GATT
negotiations. Since then, APEC’s goals and objectives have widened APEC meetings history At Blake Island near Seattle in the U.S., APEC Economic Leaders met for the first time for informal discussions in November 1993. They envisioned a community of Asia-Pacific economies based on the spirit of openness and partnership; of cooperative efforts to solve the challenges of change; of free exchange of goods, services and investment; of broadly based economic growth and higher living and educational standards; and finaly, of sustainable growth that respects the natural environment.
In subsequent annual meetings, APEC Ministers and Leaders further refined the vision and launched mechanisms to translate it into action. In 1994 in Bogor, Indonesia the vision of a region with free and open trade and investment by 2010 for developed member economies and 2020 for developing ones. During the Osaka meeting in 1995, APEC Leaders
adopted the Osaka Action Agenda (OAA), which firmly established the three pillars of APEC
activities: The Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA), adopted by the Economic Leaders in November 1996, compiled members' initial individual action plans to achieve the objectives outlined in Bogor. APEC Leaders also instructed that high attention be given to the following six areas of economic and technical cooperation: developing human capital; fostering safe and efficient capital markets; strengthening economic infrastructure; harnessing technologies of the future; promoting environmentally sustainable growth; and encouraging the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. The MAPA includes the individual and collective
action plans and progress reports on joint activities of all APEC economies to achieve the
Bogor objectives of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region by 2010 and
2020, and joint activities among members under Part II of the Osaka Action Agenda. Current
joint activities include the APEC Educational Network (EduNet), the Asia-Pacific Energy
Research Center (APERC), the APEC Labor Market Information Network (LMI), and the Trade
and Investment Data Database. The Leaders endorsed their Ministers' agreement that action should be taken with respect to early voluntary sectoral liberalization (EVSL) in 15 sectors, with nine to be advanced throughout 1998 and implementation to begin in 1999. The Blueprint for APEC Customs Modernization, which put forward a comprehensive program to harmonize and simplify customs clearances by the year 2002, provided a model of business facilitation. The Leaders also believed that full and active participation in and support of the WTO by all APEC economies is key to APEC's ability to continue to strengthen the global trading system. The progress of APEC fora is welcomed by its leaders, mostly in matters involving business, academics and other experts, women and youth in 1997 activities, and encouraged them to continue these efforts. The Leaders applauded the initiative to involve youth throughout APEC's activities in 1997 as continued prosperity in the region will depend on APEC's ability to vest the next generation of leaders of the region with the skills and knowledge they require. Leaders also noted the benefits of electronic commerce and instructed that a work program on electronic commerce be developed, taking into account relevant activities in other international fora. People in APEC economies would share the benefits of economic growth through higher incomes, high skilled and high paying jobs and increased mobility. Improved education and training would produce rising literacy rates, provide the skills for maintaining economic growth and encourage the sharing of ideas that contribute to the arts and sciences. Advances in telecommunications would shrink time and distance barriers in the region and link APEC economies so that goods and people move quickly and efficiently. Finally, they envisioned an Asia-Pacific in which the environment is improved as APEC economies protect the quality of air, water, and green spaces and manage energy sources and renewable resources to ensure sustainable growth and provide a more secure future. APEC has played a key role in catalyzing efforts by industrialized and emerging market economies in the Group of 22 to strengthen the global financial system. Leaders in Auckland were encouraged by the progress made in strengthening the international financial architecture, calling for continued cooperation in further strengthening the international financial system. They also supported the on-going efforts in the region in crisis prevention and crisis resolution and urged prompt action to improve the transparency of highly-leveraged financial institutions. Many of these efforts are the fruit of the APEC Finance Ministers process which supports a variety of collaborative initiatives to promote development of regional financial and capital markets and to support freer and stable capital flows in the Asia-Pacific region. One project led to the establishment of the Asia Recovery Information Centre for economic recovery information and analysis exchange. Other activities included holding a joint APEC-OECD workshop on insolvency law, establishing a web site for information sharing among member economies, holding a forum on pension reform, launching a privatization forum initiative, increasing interaction among APEC bank supervisors and working more closely with the private sector through organizations such as the APEC Financiers' Group, the APEC Business Advisory Council, and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. APEC Leaders already provided an important boost that helped bring the Uruguay Trade Round to a close in the early 1990's. Continuing in this tradition, Leaders in Auckland strongly supported the launch of a new trade round at the upcoming World Trade Organization talks in Seattle in November-December. They agreed that the new Round should: 1. Include comprehensive market access negotiations covering industrial tariffs in addition to the already mandated negotiations on services and agriculture. 2. Lead to timely and effective improvements in market access to the benefit of all participating economies, particularly developing economies and, consistent with this objective, provide scope to review and strengthen rules and disciplines. 3. Have a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda and be concluded with three years as a single package that does not preclude the possibility of early results on a provisional basis. The Leaders also supported the abolition of export subsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions and restrictions and, in addition, called on all WTO members not to impose new or more restrictive trade measures for the duration of the negotiations. Turning to development, the Leaders directed their Ministers to focus in the coming year on improving APEC economic and technical cooperation and capacity-building efforts. In the area of food, the Leaders directed their Ministers to implement the recommendations of the APEC Food System, which aims at developing rural infrastructure, disseminating technological advances in food production and processing, and promoting trade in food products. In the area of human resources development (HRD), the Leaders welcomed the outcome of the meeting of HRD Ministers in Washington, DC in July 1999. During their meeting, the Ministers adopted an action plan for responding to the needs of people affected by the crisis. The plan includes policies and programs to improve labor markets and social safety nets as well as those aimed at enhancing productivity through better workplace practices. The three-year management review aimed at achieving the increased efficiency and effectiveness of the APEC process continues. Further to the achievements in 1998, some additional measures were endorsed and taken by both the Senior Officials and the Ministers in 1999. The major measures are: 1. The Chair of annual Leaders/Ministerial meetings will also chair the APEC Finance Ministers process starting from 2000 to make them mutually supportive and reinforcing; 2. All APEC fora are requested to prepare annual operational plans to ensure that their activities are contributing to the achievement of the goals of APEC; 3. All APEC fora are requested to implement the measures designed to strengthen the processes of project design; preparation of funding proposals; and project approval, implementation and evaluation. During the final year of the process, a common set of criteria for the establishment of new APEC fora will be prepared. It will form an important part of the concluding report of the process at the end of 2000. Business has always been the primary force behind dynamic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The continuing globalization of business means that the APEC economies must develop region-wide practices and policies to encourage the free flow of goods, services, investment and capital within the region. APEC aims to achieve concrete and pragmatic results that will benefit business, contribute to increased income and create jobs in the region. Key features that set APEC apart from other international organizations are therefore its commitment to facilitating business and regularly bringing the business/private sector into a wide range of APEC activities. Business expertise and resources can help APEC achieve its objectives, and business is a key constituency for APEC both regionally and in individual member economies. Business already participates in many of APEC's working groups and helps shape the policy dialogue in partnership with member economy officials. APEC Economic Leaders receive advice from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) established in late 1995. Such involvement is important to ensure that APEC's work is relevant to real problems and proposes practical solutions. Nevertheless, a major APEC goal is to continue to expand the essential role of business in the APEC process. In Vancouver in 1997, the APEC’s Leaders recognized efforts made to improve the commitments in their Individual Action Plans and reaffirmed their intention to update these annually. The Leaders endorsed their Ministers' agreement that action should be taken with respect to early voluntary sectoral liberalization (EVSL) in 15 sectors, with nine to be advanced throughout 1998 and implementation to begin in 1999. The Leaders welcomed the progress of APEC fora in involving business, academics and other experts encouraged them to continue these efforts. The Leaders endorsed the Vancouver Framework for Enhanced Public-Private Partnership for Infrastructure Development, as infrastructure is inextricably linked to the questions of financial stability that APEC addressed that year. Kuala Lumpur 1998: APEC Leaders reaffirmed their confidence in the strong economic fundamentals and prospects for recovery for the economies of the Asia-Pacific. They agreed to pursue a cooperative growth strategy to end the financial crisis, and they pledged efforts to strengthen social safety nets, financial systems, trade and investment flows, the scientific and technological base, human resources development, economic infrastructure, and business and commercial links - so as to provide the base for sustained growth into the 21st century. Leaders also welcomed Ministers' decision to seek an EVSL agreement with non-APEC members at the World Trade Organisation. The Leaders adopted the Kuala Lumpur Action Program on Skills Development with the objective of contributing towards sustainable growth and equitable development while reducing economic disparities and improving the social well-being of the people, through skills upgrading/improvement. The action program seeks to encourage greater participation of the private/business sectors in skills development in APEC through public-business "smart partnership". At their meeting in September 1999 in Auckland, APEC Leaders agreed that the performance and prospects of the APEC economies had improved, but they were not complacent about the risks to recovery. Accordingly they pledged to strengthen markets and improve the international framework governing trade and investment flows. Leaders also put people and their prosperity at the forefront of their discussions, welcoming the more active participation of women and business in APEC's work during 1999. In addition to reaffirming their commitment to the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010/2020, Leaders endorsed new APEC principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform; further work on an APEC Food System; and agreed that priority would be given to trade facilitation in 2000. Leaders supported the Finance Ministers' work to strengthen domestic financial markets and the return of capital to the region. In addition they agreed that Finance Ministers should work, in collaboration with other relevant organisations to develop a set of banking standards for consideration and possible adoption by APEC economies. Looking ahead to the Seattle WTO Ministerial, Leaders committed to the launch of a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations including comprehensive negotiations on industrial tariffs, in addition to services and agriculture; improved market access; completion within three years as a single package; and the abolition of agricultural export subsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions and restrictions. The emerging signs of economic recovery in the region present APEC with a greater prospect of working towards preserving and strengthening market opening in the region as well as sustaining economic recovery. APEC’s member economies represent both, a rich diversity
of the region, as well as differing levels of economic development. Despite such
differences there is a growing sense of common purpose and cooperation aimed at sustained
regional and world growth. APEC has come a long way since 1989. The initial years of APEC
were focused largely on exchanges of views and project-based initiatives. The concerns
were simply to advance the process of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and to promote a
positive conclusion to the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. Informal Leaders’ Meetings are held annually since 1993, with each meeting resulting in significant initiatives and action plans: Blake Island, 1993 - APEC Economic Leaders met for the first time in November, 1993, when they held informal discussions at Blake Island near Seattle. They envisioned a community of Asia-Pacific economies, based on the spirit of openness and partnership; which would make cooperative efforts to address the challenges of: change; promote the free exchange of goods, services and investment; and work towards broadly-based economic growth, higher living and educational standards and sustainable growth that respects the natural environment. Bogor, 1994 - APEC envisioned “free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for developed member economies and 2020 for developing ones”. Osaka, 1995 - APEC Leaders adopted the Osaka Action Agenda (OAA), which firmly established the three pillars of APEC activities: trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. Manila, 1996 - The Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA) compiled members’ initial individual action plans to achieve the objectives outlined in Bogor. APEC Leaders also instructed that high priority be given to the following six areas of economic and technical cooperation: developing human capital; fostering safe and efficient capital markets; strengthening economic infrastructure; harnessing technologies of the future; promoting environmentally sustainable growth; and encouraging the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. Vancouver, 1997 - APEC Leaders recognized members’ efforts to improve the commitments in their Individual Action Plans (IAPs) and reaffirmed their intention to update these annually. APEC Leaders endorsed their Ministers’ agreement that action should be taken with respect to early voluntary sectoral liberalization (EVSL) in 15 sectors, with nine to be advanced throughout 1998 and implementation to begin in 1999. APEC Leaders also endorsed the Vancouver Framework for Enhanced Public-Private Partnership for Infrastructure Development. Kuala Lumpur, 1998 - APEC Leaders reaffirmed their confidence in the strong economic fundamentals and prospects for recovery of the economies of the Asia-Pacific. They agreed to pursue a cooperative growth strategy to end the financial crisis. They pledged efforts to strengthen: social safety nets; financial systems; trade and investment flows; the scientific and technological base; human resources development; economic infrastructure; and business and commercial links, so as to provide the base and set the pace for sustained growth into the 21st century. APEC Leaders also welcomed the Ministers’ decision to seek an EVSL agreement with non-APEC members at the World Trade Organisation. The APEC Leaders adopted the Kuala Lumpur Action Program on Skills Development with the objective of contributing towards sustainable growth and equitable development while reducing economic disparities and improving the social well being of the people, through skills upgrading/improvement. Auckland, 1999 - APEC Leaders agreed that the performance and prospects of the APEC economies had improved, but they were not complacent about the risks to recovery. Accordingly they pledged to strengthen markets and improve the international framework governing trade and investment flows. APEC Leaders also put people and their prosperity at the forefront of their discussions, welcoming the more active participation of women and the business sector in APEC’s work. Bandar Seri Begawan, 2000 - With the emerging signs of economic recovery in the region, APEC Economic Leaders mapped out ways of preserving, strengthening and further opening markets as well as sustaining economic recovery in APEC. Aiming to deliver on the various agreements, to the people and the diverse communities that APEC serves, they decided to address the challenges of the New Economy in the following areas: 1) managing globalization; 2) Action Agenda for the New Economy (E-commerce readiness, paperless trading and capability building); 3) creating new opportunities; and 4) strengthening the multilateral trading system. Business/Private Sector Involvement Key features that set APEC apart from other international organizations are its commitment to facilitating business and that it regularly brings the business/private sector into a wide range of APEC activities. Business is a key constituency for APEC both regionally and in individual member economies. APEC aims to achieve both concrete and pragmatic results that will benefit business, contribute to increased income and create jobs in the region. Recognizing that business expertise and resources can help APEC achieve its objectives, the business/private sector already participates in many of APEC’s working groups and helps shape the policy dialogue in partnership with member economy officials. APEC Economic Leaders established the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), a permanent council composed of up to three senior business people from each member economy to provide advice on the implementation of APEC action plans and on other specific business/private sector priorities. Chairmanship of ABAC rotates each year according to which economy chairs APEC. The 2001 ABAC Chair is Mr Qin Xiao, Vice Chairman of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation of the People's Republic of China. Chairmanship
of Mexico in APEC 2002
Presently, Mexico is defining, in consultation with APEC economies and the private and academic sectors, the main themes and priority issues that shall conduct APEC works concerning trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, as well as the economic and technical cooperation agendas. It is an honour for Mexico to have the opportunity to chair and host APEC 2002, and contribute towards achieving the objectives that our Leaders have set out for the Asia – Pacific region. The Asia – Pacific region has a great potential. APEC is the natural mechanism through which, Mexico can achieve results, especially in the areas of economic cooperation, trade liberalisation and facilitation and promotion of foreign investment. At the end of the day, APEC’s 21 member economies are working towards a common goal: improving the living standards of our population. Mexico acknowledges that APEC can bring us one step closer to this shared objective. |
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| HEADS OF APEC ECONOMIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| OVERVIEW OF PHILIPPINES-MEXICO BILATERAL RELATIONS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I.
HISTORY OF RELATIONS Philippines-Mexico relations date back to the Spanish colonial period in both countries, when Spain actually ruled the Philippine Islands through the vice royalty in Mexico (then called Nueva Espana). Many Mexicans (including Mexican Indians) figured among the colonists, administrators, friars and soldiers sent by Spain to the Islands. The most significant feature of this relationship was the fabled Galleon Trade (called the Nao de China in Mexico) between Manila and Acapulco, which lasted for over three centuries and ended only upon Mexico’s acquisition of independence from Spain in 1821. Galleons from Mexico would bring silver, jewelry and other luxurious items to the Philippines, and in turn the galleons would leave Manila loaded with precious goods such as silk, porcelain, spices, ivory figures from the Philippines and other Asian lands (e.g. China, Siam, India, Japan). It is for this reason that Mexico, among Latin American countries, features many Asian influences as part of its cultural heritage. This included many Philippine religious items (such as carved ivory religious statues) seen in Mexican churches, and even the tradition of cockfighting. For its part, many fruits and vegetables were brought to the Philippines from Mexico, and the Tagalog language is even said to contain some words from Nahuatl, the Aztec language spoken by many of Mexico’s native peoples. Currently, Mexico and the Philippines share many views in the global arena, in part due to their common status as developing countries which were former European colonies. The welfare of their overseas citizens (in Mexico’s case, most of their overseas workers are in the US) is a particular concern shared by both countries. Mexican President Vicente Fox is also pushing for Mexico to expand its trade relations beyond North America and is targeting the Asian region as a huge market for Mexican products. As Mexico prepares to host the APEC Leaders Meeting in 2002, it has sought to promote itself as a bridge for Asian exporters to penetrate the US market, in the same way that the Philippines is promoting itself as a bridge to Asia for Latin America. II. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONSThe Philippine Mission to the United Mexican States was first established as a Legation on 23 April 1953 under Mariano Espeleta. The Legation was elevated to Embassy status in 1960 with Amb. Octavio Maloles presenting his credentials to Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos as the first Philippine Ambassador to Mexico on 12 September 1961. The various Heads of Posts who have been accredited to Mexico are the following: Head of Post Date of Arrival/Presentation of Credentials
At present, there is no Philippine Ambassador to Mexico. The Acting Head of Post is Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Eduardo Jose A. de Vega, Second Secretary and Consul. III. EXCHANGE OF VISITSIn terms of the exchange of visits between Heads of States of the two countries, three (3) Philippine Presidents have visited Mexico in various capacities; President-elect Diosdado Macapagal (1961), President Ferdinand E. Marcos to attend the North-South Summit in Cancum (1981), and President Fidel V. Ramos on a State Visit (1997). On the Mexican side, President Adolfo Lopez Mateos went to the Philippines in 1962, President Jose Lopez Portillo visited the Philippines in 1978, and President Ernesto Zedillo came in 1996 (for the APEC Summit-Meetingws in Subic and Manila). There have also been visits conducted by high-ranking government officials of the Philippines and Mexico, majority of which have been on the occasion of visits undertaken by the respective Heads of States of both countries. The most recent high-level visit to Mexico was that of Presidential Special Envoy and DFA Undersecretary Rosario G. Manalo from 6-10 March 2001. In the course of her official visit, Special Envoy Manalo held meetings with ranking government officials of Mexico including Tourism Secretary Leticia Navarro, Foreign Undersecretary Miguel Marin Bosch, Migration Commission Felipe Preciado, Amba. Lorenzo Vignal (Diplomatic Counsellor to President Vicente Fox), representatives of the Mexican Business Sector, and the Filipino Community. |
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