WASHINGTON -- Laying the groundwork for a secure, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region is not the kind of work that generates dramatic headlines. But that is the work the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum does day in and day out, with significant benefits for business, workers, investors and consumers around the region.
As APEC heads into another round of high-level meetings this month in Brunei, it can point proudly to its record over the past 11 years. Over the past decade, members of APEC on average have grown faster, traded more, enjoyed larger inflows of foreign investment, created more jobs, and generated higher standards of living for their people than any other region of the world. APEC economies are significantly more open today than a decade ago. All but four have cut average tariffs to below 10 percent and virtually all are removing barriers to investment.
Top-level political commitment is key to that success. In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton hosted on Blake Island the first APEC economic leaders' meeting, an annual event that has become the single most important institution in the Asia-Pacific region. In 1994, APEC leaders developed a vision for the region -- the Bogor Declaration of free trade and investment. To fulfill that vision officials, academics, and representatives of business, labor and NGOs, meet in hundreds of sessions throughout the year to work on the nitty-gritty details of creating strong, open markets.