WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/738 
27 November 2008 
 
 (08-5832) 
 Original:   English/ 
 French/  Spanish 
 
 
SIXTEENTH APEC ECONOM IC LEADERS' MEETING 
"A NEW COMMITMENT TO ASIA-PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT" 
Lima, Peru, 22-23 November 2008 
  
 The following communication, dated 24 N ovember 2008, has been received from the 
Delegation of Peru with the request that it be circulated to Members. 
 
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 We, the Economic Leaders of the Asia-P acific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, 
gathered in Lima, Peru, under the theme: “A Ne w Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development”.  The 
theme chosen for APEC 2008 highlights the importa nce of reducing the gap between developed and 
developing member economies.  We are committe d to strengthening the social dimension of 
globalization and ensuring that all members and a ll sectors of our economies can access the skills and 
opportunities to participate in, and benefit fro m, regional and global trade and investment. 
  The current global financial crisis is one of  the most serious economic challenges we have 
ever faced.  We will act quickly and decisively  to address the impending global economic slowdown.  
We welcomed the monetary and fiscal stimulus provided by APEC member economies and will take 
all necessary economic and financial measures to reso lve this crisis, taking the necessary actions to 
offer hope to those most in need.  Our resolve to address the deteriorating gl obal economic situation, 
and support a prompt, ambitious and balanced c onclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda 
(DDA) negotiations, is outlined in a separate statement issued at this meeting. 
 
REGIONAL ECONOMIC CHALLENGES 
 Advancing Regional Economic Integration 
 
 Last year we agreed to an ambitious l ong-term agenda to stre ngthen regional economic 
integration.  We welcomed the 2008 progress report from Ministers and officials on efforts to achieve 
this goal.  We endorsed the 2009 work plan fo r the APEC Regional Economic Integration (REI) 
Agenda in order to build upon this year’s accompli shments on REI and to accelerate efforts in all 
areas of this agenda.  
 Our goal of free and open trade and investment  in the Asia-Pacific region will be achieved 
through a series of unilateral reform measures co mbined with bilateral, regional and multilateral 
liberalization.  We are committed to continuing th e implementation of APEC’s REI Agenda. In that 
regard, we:   • Welcomed progress made by member economies towards the Bogor Goals of free and open 
trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.   We reinforced our commitment to achieving the 
Bogor Goals to promote growth, development and a rapid recovery from the current global slowdown. WT/L/738 
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 • We commended the progress made in examin ing the prospects and options of a possible 
Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as  a long-term prospect. We noted advice from 
Ministers that while an FTAAP would likely be of  economic benefit to the region as a whole, there 
would also be challenges in its creation.  We inst ructed Ministers and officials to undertake further 
steps in examining the prospects and options of a possible FTAAP, including by conducting further 
analytical work on the likely economic impact of an FTAAP, and discussing the possible capacity 
building requirements for any possible future negotia tions.  In addition, we instructed officials to 
undertake initiatives designed to promote greater convergence among economies in key areas of APEC’s trade and investment portfolio, including  areas such as customs administration, trade 
facilitation and cross-border services. 
  • Welcomed five new model measures, resulti ng in a set of 15 completed chapters for 
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and Free Trad e Agreements (FTAs) that will promote high-
quality RTAs/FTAs and greater consistency and c oherence among these agreements in the region. 
 
 • Endorsed the continued process of implementation of APEC’s second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP II) to achieve our stated goal of  reducing trade transaction costs by an additional 
five percent between 2007 - 2010.   • Welcomed the APEC Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP) to improve the investment 
environment in the region and commended the initia tion of the study of bilateral investment 
agreements and core-investment-related activities of existing free-trade agreements.   • Emphasized the importance of strengthening fi nancial markets in the region and welcomed 
the capacity building activities initiated by APEC Fina nce Ministers to reform capital markets.  We 
recognized the pressing need for infrastructure de velopment in APEC economies and welcomed the 
work undertaken by Finance Ministers on linkages between private public pa rtnerships and capital 
market development.  In this re gard, we called on Finance Ministers to examine more fully the means 
to optimize linkages between private infrastru cture finance and growth and development. 
  • Reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen the protection and enforcement of intellectual 
property rights (IPR) in the region, and reiterated the importance of comprehensive and balanced IPR 
systems that provide for and protect the incentives that encourage creation and innovation.  We will 
continue to promote greater collaboration among our IPR experts and enforcement authorities. 
  • We welcomed the progress by economies to implement the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and 
Piracy Initiative as well as efforts to improve patent systems in the region and look forward to further 
progress in this area next year.   • Welcomed the Digital Prosperity Checklist as an important tool in APEC´s efforts to promote sustained economic growth through th e use and development of information and 
communication technologies.  
 
 We welcomed the views and work carried out by the APEC Business Advisory Council 
(ABAC) on improving the business environment, and ca lled for an active participation of small and 
medium enterprises (SMEs) in the REI agenda.  
 We asked Ministers and officials to conti nue the implementation of the REI Agenda as 
outlined in the progress report and report back to us in 2009 with a summary of steps taken to promote 
this agenda.   WT/L/738 
 Page 3 
 
 
   Noting the increased economic integration in the region, we also discussed Australia´s 
suggestions on how regional architecture can  keep pace with changing circumstances. 
Implementing Structural Reform 
 
 We agreed that our Leader’s Agenda to Impl ement Structural Reform (LAISR) is a central 
element of APEC’s agenda, integrating the three pillars of trade and investment liberalization, 
business facilitation, and economic and technical assi stance and cooperation.   We reiterated the 
fundamental importance of tackling ‘behind-the-bor der’ barriers to trade and investment in the 
creation of wellperforming, r esilient and robust economies. 
 
 We welcomed the outcomes of the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM), held in 
Melbourne in August 2008 and noted the endorsement  by Ministers of APEC’s Good Practice Guide 
on Regulatory Reform.  We recognized the importan ce of developing a program of practical support 
for member economies to successfully undertake stru ctural reform.  This includes capacity building 
initiatives in the areas of regulatory reform, corporate governance and other LAISR areas. 
 
 We encouraged active participation in the vol untary system of peer or self-review of our 
economies’ efforts to implement structural economic reform.   We welcomed publication of the annual A PEC Economic Policy Report and the accelerated 
work plan for Private Sector Development endorsed by Trade Ministers in June. 
 
Improving Food Security in the Asia-Pacific 
 
 We are deeply concerned about the impact that volatile global food prices, combined with food shortages in some developing economies, ar e having on our achievements in reducing poverty 
and lifting real incomes over the last decade.  The poor are especially vulnerable to increases in food 
prices.  We support a fully coordinated response and a comprehensive strategy to tackle this issue 
through the Comprehensive Framework for Action de veloped by the United Na tions (UN) Task Force 
on the Global Food Security Crisis.  We will sup port the application and implementation of this 
Framework within the region, as appropriate.  
 Individual and collective policy responses to  expand food and agricultural supply in the 
region should strengthen market forces to encourag e new investment in agricultural technology and 
production systems.  A prompt, ambitious and ba lanced conclusion to the WTO DDA negotiations 
would deliver substantial improvements in market access and reduce market-distorting measures in global agricultural trade. 
 
 We commended the work that APEC has undert aken in the area of food and agriculture, and 
welcome the work plan endorsed by APEC Ministers to refine and strengthen APEC’s agenda to meet 
current and emerging food security challenges.  We also recognized the role of ABAC in raising the 
importance of food and agricultural issues on the APEC agenda.  
 We directed APEC to increase technical c ooperation and capacity building that will help 
foster agricultural sector growth, including effort s to increase food production; improve agricultural 
education; enhance natural resource management ; promote the development of next generation 
biofuels made from non-food materials; build we ll-functioning markets and regulatory institutions; 
and make food storage, transportation, and dist ribution systems more efficient.  We pledged 
cooperation to bolster conditions conducive to promo ting agricultural research and development.  We 
directed APEC to help member economies devel op science-based regulatory frameworks to benefit 
from the potential of agricultural biotechnology.  
 WT/L/738 
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 ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF GLOBALIZATION  Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Asia-Pacific 
 
 We stressed that globalization based on ec onomic, social and environmental progress can 
bring sustainable benefits to all APEC economies,  their business sectors and their people. CSR can 
reinforce the positive effects that trade and investment have on growth, competitiveness and 
sustainable development.  We encourage responsib le and transparent business conduct that adheres to 
local legislation and regulations and takes into account guidelines related to CSR that have been 
developed by multilateral bodies, as appropriate.   We agreed that given increasing expectations amongst global consumers, investors and business partners regarding responsib le and sustainable business practices, the voluntary activities that 
comprise CSR will remain an important aspect of do ing business in the 21st century.  We recognize 
that all stakeholders in our communities benefit when governments foster a business environment that 
encourages voluntary CSR practices . This will create greater value both for businesses and for the 
societies in which they function.   We welcomed the work that has been undert aken within APEC to promote CSR awareness 
and capabilities in the region, and future work th at will encourage dialogue on CSR among relevant 
stakeholders including: businesses, governments, employees, communities, consumers, investors, and non-governmental organizations.  We recognized ABAC’s efforts in promoting CSR awareness and 
uptake in the region through the dissemination of in formation regarding CSR principles, practices and 
benefits.  
 
 We encouraged companies to incorporate CSR into their business strategies to take account of 
social, labour and environmental concerns.  The de velopment of CSR in the region will depend on the 
different domestic economic, social and cultural cont ext of APEC members.  We agreed to promote 
CSR practices in APEC economies on a voluntary basis in business operations of all sizes to complement public policies that foster sustainable development. 
 
Combating Corruption in the Region 
 
 Corruption in both the public and private sector s is a serious threat to social and economic 
development in the region.  We recognize that when  criminal entities collude with corrupt public and 
private sector officials, it results in a culture of impunity and financial exploitation of the legitimate 
economy.  We agreed to leverage our collective wi ll to combat corruption and related transnational 
illicit networks by promoting clean government, s upporting public-private partnerships, fostering 
market integrity, and transparent financial system s.  We recognize that the criminalization of 
corruption can facilitate greater regional cooperation.  
 In support of our earlier APEC anti-corrup tion commitments, we commend efforts undertaken 
by member economies to develop comprehensive an ti-corruption strategies. These include efforts to 
restore the public trust and protect against the abuse of our financial system through financial 
intelligence and law enforcement cooperation related to  corrupt payments and illicit financial flows.  
These anti-corruption activities through APEC are consistent with the UN Convention Against 
Corruption (UNCAC), which we encouraged economi es to ratify and implement, where applicable.  
We also supported the revised Financial Acti on Task Force (FATF) recommendations, where 
appropriate.   WT/L/738 
 Page 5 
 
 
   We welcomed the Lima Anti-Corruption Declar ation on Financial Market Integrity through 
Effective Public-Private Partnerships and the A PEC Guidelines for Public-Private Action against 
Corruption. 
Strengthening Cooperation and Capacity Building in APEC  
  APEC’s program of Economic and Techni cal Cooperation (ECOTECH) is essential to 
achieving our objective of building capacity in a range  of sectors in APEC economies. We reaffirmed 
our commitment to the Manila Framework, which serves as the basis for the implementation of the 
ECOTECH activities outlined in the Osaka Acti on Agenda. We welcomed contributions from 
economies to APEC’s capacity building programmes. 
 
 We welcomed China’s proposal to host the 5
th APEC Human Resources Development 
Ministerial Meeting in 2010.  Ensuring that all members of our economies receive a quality education 
is critical to achieving social, individual, economic an d sustainable development.  It enables people to 
take advantage of the opportunities created by glob alization.  We supported the efforts of APEC 
Education Ministers to strengthen education systems in the region including ongoing support to the 
APEC Education Network.  We welcomed the rese arch-based steps taken by APEC in the areas of 
mathematics and science; language learning; caree r and technical education/technical vocational 
education and training; and information and commun ication technologies (ICT) and systemic reform.  
We support the recommendation of Education Minister s to facilitate internati onal exchanges, working 
towards reciprocal exchanges of talented  students, graduates and researchers. 
 
 We reaffirmed our commitment to build regi onal capacity to minimize health-related threats 
including avian and human influenza pandemics and communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS.  We welcomed continuing efforts to ensure economies are we ll prepared to deal with health threats and to 
respond to them in a way that minimizes thei r adverse impacts on human welfare, trade and 
investment.  We reaffirmed our commitment to  improve food and product safety standards and 
practices to facilitate trade and en sure the health and safety of our populations.  We endorsed the work 
of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum’s Part nership Training Institute Network and called on 
Ministers to take additional steps to enhance food and product safety next year.   We are concerned that gender discrimination continues to have a significant impact on our 
economies.  We committed to strengthening the cap acity of APEC members to ensure that gender 
considerations are taken into account in the de velopment of trade and economic policy, and to 
ensuring that the region’s women are better able to participate in and benefit from regional and global 
trade.  ENHANCING HUMAN SECURITY IN THE REGION  Combating Terrorism and Securing Regional Trade 
 
 Enhancing human security and protecting the region’s business and tr ade against natural, 
accidental or deliberate disruptions remains an e nduring priority for APEC, and an essential enabling 
element in APEC’s core trade and investment agenda. 
  We agreed that international terrorism and th e proliferation of weapons of mass destruction 
and their means of delivery pose a direct threat to our vision of free, open,  peaceful and prosperous 
societies, and reaffirmed our commitment to elimin ate these threats.  Since 2001, we have worked 
together with a common understanding that all terrori st acts are criminal and unjustifiable, and must 
be unequivocally condemned, especially when they ta rget or injure civilians, or use the abhorrent 
practices of suicide bombing and hostage taking.  Terrorism in all forms and manifestations, 
committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, is a profound threat to the peace and WT/L/738 
Page 6  
 
  security of all people, and of all faiths.  Terrorist  acts cannot be excused or justified by any alleged 
cause, conflict, oppression, or poverty.   We agreed that terrorist attempts to abuse or  corrupt trade flows, finance, transportation, 
travel communications and modern technologies w ill not be tolerated.  We pledged our full 
cooperation to ensure that the flow of people, goo ds and investments remained secure and open, and 
that economies and markets operated without disrupt ion.  We welcomed the initiative of a group of 
member economies led by Singapore to undertake a Trade Recovery Programme pilot exercise in 
2009.  We recognized the important role played by the UN and its Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.  
We stressed the need for implem entation, where applicable, of UN counter-terrorism measures and 
the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Special  Recommendations on Terrorist Financing.  We 
urged APEC Ministers and officials to continue to help secure the region’s economic, trade, investment and financial systems from terrorist a ttack or abuse and trade-based money laundering.  
We welcomed the ongoing efforts of the intern ational community to combat piracy and armed 
robbery at sea and encouraged further con certed efforts to fight against piracy. 
 
Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness and Management 
 
 The frequency and intensity of natural disasters re lated to the distortion of climate patterns in 
the region is increasing and the location of, and grow th of, cities and mega-cities in vulnerable areas 
increases the impact of catastrophic events.  Impr oving risk reduction, disaster preparedness and 
management in the region is a critical human securi ty issue facing the region.  We agreed that the 
challenges in this area are significant and growing in complexity and required greater international 
cooperation and coordination with the private sector , international organiza tions and non-government 
organizations.  
 We recognized that there continues to be ope rational challenges in regional disaster responses 
and greater coordination is needed as the number of disaster management arrangements and players in 
the region continues to grow.  We agreed that gr eater focus is needed on disaster risk reduction, 
emergency preparedness and building domestic disas ter management capabilities.  In this regard, we 
welcomed the adoption of an APEC Strategy  for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency 
Preparedness and Response initiated by Peru; the APEC Principles on Disaster Response and 
Cooperation proposed by China; the Stocktake on Disaster Management Capacity Building Needs; 
and welcomed the Australia-Indonesia proposal for a Disaster Risk Reduction Facility and its linkages 
to APEC economies and the APEC Task Force on Emergency Preparedness.   We endorsed the priority APEC has given to  promoting risk management, business resilience 
and public-private sector partners hips, and supported efforts to prepare economies for the recovery 
phase.  We instructed officials to undertake long-te rm capacity building projects aimed at accelerating 
recovery in disaster affected ar eas in APEC economies and supported the inclusion of education on 
disaster issues in school curricula where appropriate.  
CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY SECURITY AND CLEAN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 Our ability to successfully confront the challenge  of climate change will be crucial to the 
wellbeing of future generations.  As a global is sue, climate change must be addressed in a 
comprehensive manner, through international c ooperation under the UN Framework Convention on 
Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2009.  Reducing povert y is likely to become more difficult in those 
developing economies most vulnerable to the adver se effects of climate change and related natural 
disasters.  We reaffirmed our commitment to the Sydney APEC Leaders’ Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development.   WT/L/738 
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   We support decisive and effective long term cooperation now, up to and beyond 2012 to 
address climate change under the UNFCCC, in accordance with the principle of common but 
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabi lities.  We welcomed decisions taken by the 
international community at the UN Climate Change  Conference in Bali in 2007 and the efforts to 
build a consensus on long term cooperative action, including a global emission reduction goal.  We 
also noted the declaration in this regard by the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit held in July this year.  
We recognize the economic diversity  and different domestic circumstances of individual APEC 
economies in addressing climate change.    We reaffirmed our commitment to the Acti on Agenda announced as part of the Sydney 
Declaration.  We appreciate and encourage the e fforts of individual APEC economies to meet these 
goals.  We also welcomed the establishment of th e Asia-Pacific Network for sustainable Forest 
Management and Rehabilitation (A PFNet) and appreciate China’s commitment to further financial 
support for this initiative.  We expressed support fo r the cooperation and capacity building for climate 
change mitigation and adaptation, including those that promote the development and deployment of 
clean technologies.  We appreciate Australia, Japan and the United States' financial support for the 
Climate Investment Funds, particularly the Clean Technology Fund.    We recognized the value of conservation, sustainable forests management and land use 
practices and enhancement of carbon stocks in forests and agricult ural soils for carbon sequestration 
in the global response to climate change. 
 
 Recognizing that climate change could impe de economies’ abilities to achieve sustainable 
economic growth and reduce poverty, we strongly support international cooperation and capacity 
building for mitigation and adaptation as objectives th at should be equally pursued, including those 
that promote low-emissions technology developmen t and transfer to, and financial support for, 
developing economies.  We also call for additiona l and coordinated effort s to better understand 
vulnerabilities caused by the impact of climate ch ange on our oceans and their resources to develop 
more effective adaptation strategies.  We endor sed the positive contribution of the Major Economies 
Leaders’ Declaration to the UNFCCC. We committed to concerted action under the UN and 
complementary processes to reach an equitable and effective post-2012 interna tional climate change 
arrangement at the UN Climate Change C onference in Copenhagen in December 2009. 
 
 Conscious that access to adequate, reliable, clean  and affordable energy resources is vital to 
sustaining economic prosperity in the region, we reaffirmed our commitment to supporting the energy 
needs of regional economies by promoting open ener gy markets and free energy trade and investment.  
Such markets are crucial to the development of re newable sources of energy and the dissemination of 
low emission energy technologies, including new and alternative energy resources and technologies.  
We encouraged our officials to promote such deve lopments and urge them to pursue regional energy 
efficiencies and maximize the potential de velopment of clean energy technology. 
 
Strengthening APEC 
  APEC is the pre-eminent forum for economic cooperation in the region. We are committed to 
strengthening APEC’s institutional processes to ensu re it remains responsive to a rapidly changing 
global environment.  Cooperative action within A PEC can contribute to better outcomes on the major 
international challenges we face. We welcomed advice from APEC Ministers on the successful establishment of a Policy Support Unit in the APEC Secretariat as well as progress on the 
appointment of an Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat for a fixed term. 
  We endorsed in full the Joint Statement of Ministers at the 20
th APEC Ministerial Meeting. 
 WT/L/738 
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   We welcomed the offer of Indonesia to host APEC in 2013.  We welcomed the invitation 
from the Prime Minister of Singapore to meet again in Singapore in 2009. 
 
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