## (2) World Trade Organization (WTO) Endeavors

In the WTO Doha Round negotiations, Japan aimed to further liberalization and chaired multilateral meetings in the fields of maritime transport and the construction services sector among other efforts to actively participate in negotiations regarding land, infrastructure, transport and tourism. From 2012, while Doha Round negotiations are experiencing a general lull, discussions are underway for the purpose of creating a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) between Japan and eager countries and regions to further liberalize trade in the service sector with negotiations starting in June 2013.

Also, amendment negotiations for the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which aim to ensure the transparency of government procurement and expand market entry was practically agreed upon and the revised protocol was officially adopted in March of 2012 at the WTO Government Procurement Ministerial Meeting. Through the domestic efforts of countries and regions participating in the GPA pushing for the ratification, on March 7, 2014, the 2/3 majority required of participating countries and regions reached an agreement and the revised GPA entered into force April 6, 2014.

## 2 Contributions and Strategic Utilization of International Organizations

## (1) Asia Pacific Ocean Economic Cooperation (APEC) Endeavors

MLIT is actively involved with APEC Ministerial Meetings and Working Groups in the fields of transport and tourism. In September 2013, the 8th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting was held in Tokyo and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism served as the chair along with the Minister of Transport of Indonesia, the chair of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. At this meeting, discussions revolved around the basic theme of "Enhancing Connectivity through 'High-Quality Transportation' in the APEC Region" and as a result of this meeting, initiatives 1) to develop a transportation "Connectivity Map" that will visualize the ideal transportation network within the APEC region to be reached by the year 2020; 2) to further cooperation and sharing of best practices regarding transportation infrastructure investment, financing and operations in each economy; and 3) to develop a "Quality Transport" vision, encompassing convenience, efficiency, safety, security, and sustainability as priorities were adopted as part of the "Ministerial Joint Statement".

The gist of this statement, was also incorporated into the Leaders’ Declaration of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in October of the same year. Also, regarding the three initiatives listed above in the Ministerial Joint Statement, at the 9th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting to be held in the Philippines in 2015, a report of progress will be made.

Also, in the field of tourism, high-level policy discussions were held in Bali, Indonesia in October 2013 regarding the facilitation of travel including discussions about visa facilitation.

## (2) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

MLIT has implemented a variety of cooperation projects under the “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership”, a framework for cooperation in the transport sector between ASEAN and Japan established in 2003. Various meetings such as the “ASEAN and Japan Transport Ministers Meeting” are held annually to confirm the state of progress for projects under the “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership” as well as discuss future directions and new projects.