APEC thinks about free trade zone

By Vestnik Kavkaza

The Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is thought to be the largest economic alliance in the world, but it has no charter. That’s why it cannot be called an organization and works as an international forum, a consultative body for discussion of economic issues.

19 countries (Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Canada, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, the USA, Thailand, Chili, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan) and two territories (Hang-Kong and Taiwan) are not called members of the APEC, but economies of the APEC.

Russia pays great attention to cooperation within the framework of the APEC. It hosted the summit in 2012. Valery Sorokin, the ambassador-at-large of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, who represents Russia in the APEC, said that in 2012 Russia suggested consideration of a traditional topic of regional economic integration from the point of view of an agreement on the formation and establishing of an all-regional integration mechanism.

The second priority of Russia in the APEC is improvement of regional transport and logistics systems. “Of course, when we promoted the priority in 2012, we considered the interests of connecting our transport and logistics systems, facilities, capacities with all-regional systems. Russia pointed out encouragement of an innovative way of development. Our priorities were shared by Indonesia, China and the Philippines. The issues will be among the priorities of future chairs of the APEC. In 2016 it will be Peru, in 2017 – Vietnam, in 2018 – Papua New Guinea. In the next few years the problems which we highlighted in 2012 will maintain their topical character. It will provide a succession of priorities in the APEC's activity,” Sorokin thinks.

Today the APEC is discussing certain agreements on joint establishment of an all-regional free trade zone. Russia has no agreements on free trade with the countries of the region, but, according to Sorokin, it is moving towards that goal.