Partners for Progress(PFP)

1.PURPOSE

"Partners for Progress(PFP)" aims at intruducing in APEC a mechanism to further promote economic and technical cooperation on the basis of mutual assistance and voluntarism.

2.BACKGROUND

1. The implementation of the Bogor Declaration comprises trade and investment liberalization, trade and invetsment facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. These are the three basic pillars of APEC activities and APEC members need to move forward in all the three areas.
2. The third pillar,i.e. economic and technical cooperation in APEC consist of,
   1. coperation that directly supports the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and
   2. cooperation toeard achieving sustainable growth, reducing economic dispartities and improving economic and social well-being in the Asia-Pacific region. (The Bogor Declararion points out in paragraph 8 that such cooperation will also facilitate the growth of trade and investment in the region.)
3. To date, some progress has been made in the above two areas but much remains to be done.
   Against this background, the proposed PFP mecahnism is intended to promote more effectively and efficiently the cooperation mentioned in (2)above.
   PFP will, in particular, serve to actively promote cooperation related to the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment among APEC members.

3.THE PFP MECHANISM

1. GUIDELINES
   1. Target areas:All areas addressed or to be addressed within APEC. PFP should be paeticularly focused on cooperation directly supporting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.
   2. Mutual assistance and voluntarism:PFP projects should ensure that mainly the region's developing economies and as many other members as possible beneift from the projects, and should encourage the contributions of the benefiting members themselves to promote cooperation among all members in the project.
      Members participating in PFP projects are encouraged to consider possible ways of cooeration given their respective range of resources.
   3. Initiator:A member becomes the initiator of a PFP project on a voluntary basis.Based on the program process mentioned below, the initiator of a project bears the primary responsibility for the implementation of that project.
   4. Utilization of the Existing APEC Structure:PFP will make use of the existing APEC structure, and will not require the creation of new groups, committees or other organizations, or a new special approval process.
2. PROGRAM PROCESS
   1. Project Formulation
      1. An Apec member voluntees to become the initiator and proposes a candidate PFP project in draft form at one of the Working Groups or other relevant APEC fora for its consideration. ( The project draft will contain such elements as objectives, proposed activities, duration, cost estimaes and financing.)
         At the Working Group or relevant forum, the initiator takes into account the views expressed and reformulates as necessary the draft candidate project. At the same time, it calls on other members to participate.
         This process results in the formulation of a candidate PFP project with an initiator and an agreement on the part of a numbers to take part in that project.
      2. The APEC Secretariat shall be informed of developments in the above process from the initial draft project proposal to the resulting formulation of the candidate project and shall, in turn, inform other relevant Working Groups and APEC fora.
         (Notes)
         
         1. The initiator as well as the Working Group should make sure that PFP projects avoid duplication with existing regional projects in the field of economic and technical cooperation.
         2. APEC members participate in a PFP project on a voluntary basis. On the other hand, three or more members including the initiator should be involved in a given PFP project.
         3. Members wishing to participate in a project are encouraged to consider ways in which they can cooperate and make contributions within their respective range of resorces.
            Financial contributions may come from official floes or other supplementary sources such as business associations, foundations and other private sector organizations.
   2. Project Implementation
      1. Once a candidate project is formulated, the Working Group or relevant forum submits the project to the BAC (Badget, and Administration Committee) and the SOM( Seinior Official Meeting), and obtain SOM's approval.
         Following the above approval, the project wil be implemented by the initiator and the participating members.
      2. The APEC Secretariat will receive information on the implementation of the project and will inform APEC members when necessary.
         (Note)
         
         1. PFP projects are not to be ephemeral events, but projects that continue for an appreciable period of time and produce tangible results.
3. ROLE OF THE SECRETARIAT
   1. In order that APEC members and concerned APEC fora be duly informed about PFP so as to promote transparency and avoid duplication in APEC's efforts, the APEC Secretarial will be entrusted with the task of collecting and disseminating information about proposed and ongoing PFP projects. The Secretariat, in this way, will make available within APEC a pool of information relative to PFP. It will bear no decision making role.
   2. For the above purpose, a single member of the Secretriat will;
      1. collect and compile information related to the formulation, approval and implementation of PFP projects,
      2. distribute the above information to all relevant APEC fora, and
      3. respond to inquiries by APEC members by providing information at his/her disposal.

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