|
Hong Kong has donated US$500,000 to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Support Fund in support of capacity building in development economies, contributing to the implementation of the second Trade Facilitation Action Plan.
Attending the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting and related meetings in Lima, Peru, Director-General of Trade & Industry Joseph Lai said Hong Kong has been playing an active role in the formulation of the action plan (TFAP II).
"To make TFAP II a success, it is particularly important to step up capacity-building efforts to better equip developing member economies to respond to the changing business environment.
"Our donation reflects the importance we attach to the action plan. It also demonstrates our belief that capacity building is the key for the collective approach adopted for implementing TFAP II to be effective," he said.
Implementation of TFAP II, which ministers endorsed last year, will be one of APEC's major tasks in 2008. The action plan aims to achieve a 5% reduction of trade transaction costs in the period 2007-2010, focusing on the areas of customs procedures, business mobility, standards and conformance and electronic commerce. Key performance indicators will be developed to monitor progress.
|
