APEC leaders meet in Singapore next week
By Victoria Jen, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 November 2009 1712 hrs

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SINGAPORE : The 21 APEC leaders will meet in Singapore next week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the regional grouping.

The meeting comes just as the region begins to move out of the financial meltdown of a year ago.

To sustain growth, Asian leaders have to agree to make free trade and investment a priority.

With the US and Europe still picking themselves up, Asian leaders warn that more needs to be done to maintain the momentum of the recovery.

The APEC economies are united under one issue - greater economic integration of the region. And one most talked about approach is a regional free trade agreement, which will create the world's biggest free trade area, surpassing the European Union.

There are other competing visions of a free trade bloc. Japan is calling for an "East Asian community", leaving US membership up in the air. Australia on the other hand, is pressing for an Asia Pacific community by 2020, which explicitly includes Washington.

But despite various efforts, some analysts remain sceptical.

"I would imagine political will is probably the most crucial ingredient of establishing this. I'm not sufficiently convinced at this point in time that all the Asian Pacific countries or APEC members regard the idea of a regional FTA as the best way forward," said Tan See Seng, head of Research for IDSS, Nanyang Technological University.

Other problems like different levels of economic development, as well as political spats may also stall the negotiation process. But that will not rule out an APEC FTA as a long-term objective.

Deborah Kay Elms, head of Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade and Negotiations, said: "The prospect for an FTA in APEC is limited. That's one of the reasons why there's such enthusiasm for the transPacific partnership...

"We've got a subset, a little grouping, and we show the way. Then, maybe we can build on new members and we could get to a larger free trade agreement."

Analysts believe the Bogor goals of free trade and investment can serve as a litmus test. And it still remains to be seen whether its deadline for developed economies next year can be achieved. - CNA /ls