APEC senior officials' meeting 'productive': chairman

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - A meeting to thrash out proposals for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was "productive" and "constructive," meeting chairman Igor Morgulov said here Monday.

"We are satisfied with the results and the meeting was quite productive. We have agreed on a large number of initiatives," Morgulov told a media conference at the end of the two-day Senior Officials' Meeting.

"The meeting also showed that all delegations hold a constructive approach, which gives us grounds to believe that the upcoming (APEC) summit will be effective," he said.

Morgulov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said the officials meeting had no decision-making role but could submit bills to the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Sept 5-6. Bills passed by the ministers would be tabled at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Sept 8-9.

Meanwhile, Morgulov admitted there were also disagreements at the officials meeting, as the "economies of APEC are quite different."

"But we are trying to find a balance between different economies," he said.

According to the official, Russia, as host of the APEC gatherings, has tabled more than 50 percent of the initiatives at the meeting.

Representatives from APEC members at the meeting discussed issues related to the four major topics of the APEC gathering, including trade and investment liberalization and regional economic integration, the strengthening of food security, the formation of reliable transport and logistical chains, and intensive interaction for innovative growth.

In addition, the officials evaluated APEC's key achievements this year, including the progress in fulfilling APEC leaders' instructions to develop in 2012.

"APEC members and stakeholders have continued to intensively work on 'next generation' trade and investment issues to produce a set of specific and tangible deliverables for 2012," Morgulov said at the meeting.

"The results are crucial to improving opportunities for businesses and workers by facilitating global supply chains, assisting small and medium-sized enterprises and promoting effective, non-discriminatory, and market-driven innovation policy," he said.

The representatives also reached consensus on measures to further strengthen transparency in trade agreements and implement a more systematic approach to supply chain chokepoints.

"Work on these issues drives APEC toward regional economic integration and contributes to building a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific," Morgulov said.

"Equally important, these actions also promote good regulatory practices to expand trade and foster an environment that supports increased productivity and growth, to help get the global economy back on track," he said.

It was the fourth and the final meeting of APEC senior officials for 2012.