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Skriven 2005-11-19 23:33:08 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (051119d) for Sat, 2005 Nov 19
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13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 19, 2005

13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting



President George W. Bush November 8, 2005, Press Roundtable, Washington,
D.C.

At the 13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting,
President Bush and the other leaders of APEC's 21 member economies came
together to make progress on advancing free and fair trade and ensuring
security in the region. This year, the leaders devoted particular attention
to: o Advancing the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations; o
Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and
enforcement; o Combating the threat of avian influenza and a potential
pandemic; and o Improving security for radioactive sources, civilian
aviation, and trade.

President Bush and the other APEC Leaders committed to advance WTO
negotiations, promote trade liberalization in the APEC region, strengthen
IPR regimes, and facilitate trade and investment through the Busan Business
Agenda.

President Bush reiterated his commitment to enhancing both security and
prosperity in the APEC region. He and the other APEC leaders confirmed
their determination to defeat terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction (WMD), protect health, promote energy security, and fight
corruption.

Advancing World Trade Organization Negotiations: President Bush urged other
leaders to join the United States in taking bold action to ensure an
ambitious, market-opening outcome for the Doha Development Agenda,
fulfilling the promise of the Doha Declaration to expand trade and lift
hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. To this end, the leaders
issued a stand-alone statement underscoring their commitment to achieve a
successful conclusion of the Doha negotiations and their determination to
provide the strong political leadership necessary to move the negotiations
forward at the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting in December.

Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights: President Bush's global
initiative to stop trade in pirated and counterfeit goods has intensified
the commitment of APEC leaders to strengthen IPR protection and enforcement
through their endorsement of the APEC Model Guidelines to reduce trade in
counterfeit and pirated goods, to protect against unauthorized copies, and
to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods over the internet. Leaders agreed
to build further on this important work in coming years in close
consultation with the private sector.

Promoting Trade Liberalization and Facilitation-The Busan Business Agenda:
Leaders agreed with President Bush to take action to facilitate trade and
investment, improve transparency and regulatory practices, and simplify
administrative procedures. The plan of action, known as the Busan Business
Agenda, contains concrete steps to achieve free and open regional trade by
establishing a pro-business environment in the Asia-Pacific region. The
Agenda pledges to cut transaction costs by another five percent by 2010 and
to work with the APEC business community to develop an expanded work
program targeting increased investment liberalization and facilitation.

Preventing an Influenza Pandemic: APEC Leaders endorsed a U.S. co-sponsored
initiative on "Preparing for and Mitigating an Influenza Pandemic" to
ensure that the region can better prevent, prepare for, and respond to a
potential pandemic that may emerge from avian influenza. They agreed to
collaborate and cooperate in a transparent and open manner, provide timely
and complete reporting of avian influenza cases, undertake early
implementation of the revised International Health Regulations, enhance
collective APEC work to strengthen regional capacity, and support the
International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.

Enhancing Security in the Asia-Pacific Region: The United States is leading
APEC efforts to enhance the security of the Asia-Pacific region. APEC
Leaders endorsed U.S. initiatives to lower the threat from Man-Portable Air
Defense Systems (MANPADS) and ensure the safe handling and trade of
radioactive sources that could be used to make "dirty" bombs. Each APEC
member committed to undertake a MANPADS Vulnerability Assessment at an
international airport by the end of 2006 to identify areas for aviation
security improvements, and committed to implementing the International
Atomic Energy Agency Code of Conduct and the Guidance on the Import and
Export of Radioactive Sources by the end of 2006. In addition, APEC members
are encouraging the implementation of the APEC Framework for the Security
and Facilitation of Global Trade, which will help secure and facilitate the
global supply chain within the APEC region. APEC Leaders also welcomed the
Regional Movement Alert List, a U.S.-Australia pilot project for an
immigration alert system to identify travelers using lost or stolen
passports, and encouraged work on its expansion in 2006.

Responding to Energy Supply and Demand Challenges: Leaders agreed to
respond to the impact of high oil prices by taking action on important
supply- and demand-side measures, including: increasing oil production and
refining capabilities, maintaining oil stocks to respond to oil supply
disruptions, promoting investment in the energy sector, improving the
functioning of the global oil market, and promoting energy efficiency and
diversification. Leaders also acknowledged that access to clean, reliable,
and affordable energy requires strengthened efforts to develop and deploy
advanced energy technologies, such as renewables, clean coal, and advanced
nuclear power with enhanced safety features, as well as to adopt
energy-efficient technologies, processes, and practices. Our new
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate with Australia,
China, India, Korea, and Japan is one important tool for achieving these
results.

Fighting Corruption: With President Bush's leadership, APEC has come
together to take strong action against corruption. Following on their bold
commitments to fight corruption made last year in Santiago, Chile, APEC
Leaders agreed to intensify regional cooperation to deny safe haven to
officials and individuals guilty of corruption, make the implementation of
principles of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) a
top priority, and support business leaders' commitment at this year's APEC
CEO Summit to operate their corporate affairs with the highest level of
integrity and sound corporate governance practices.

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