Terror joins talks on open trade

Prime Minister Helen Clark will meet Asia-Pacific leaders in Mexico this weekend for a summit that has international trade on the agenda and terrorism as its focus.

Each year, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) conference brings together 21 leaders to discuss ways to increase and liberalise trade.

But in recent years more pressing matters have been on the agenda, and this year the Bali bombing has put a spotlight on international security.

The situation, and how to deal with it, will be discussed at formal sessions of the two-day summit, in the corridors and at the leaders' retreat.

Apec has no specific mandate but it is a powerful group of nations. A united condemnation of terrorism is likely this year, linked with concerns about its impact on international trade.

It is on the agenda as "counter-terrorism and its economic consequences", a follow-up to discussions last year in Shanghai.

That summit was held just over a month after the September 11 attacks, this meeting in the beach resort of Los Cabos closely follows the bombings in Bali.

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Phil Goff, in Los Cabos to prepare the ground for the joint communique, said the big challenge was to find a balance between counter-terrorism measures and international trade.

"The degree of controls already in place creates barriers, and the focus on counter-terrorism is going to be very strong."

Examples from the past year included the closer scrutiny of international travellers and new provisions for container examination, which the United States insisted on.

These and other counter-terrorism measures made trade liberalisation and easier access more difficult to achieve.

Mr Goff said the technological means were there to tighten customs controls, for instance, without slowing things down.

"It would put some pressure on New Zealand, but we could do it," he said. "But a lot of developing countries lack the funds, and sometimes the political will, to do it."

Mr Goff believes that Apec has changed considerably since it was formed in 1989, when it was designed to deal specifically with international trade and expanding the economies of the region. He pointed to the summit held in Auckland in 1999, when the East Timor crisis came under intense discussion.

"It was a major pressure point, to make Indonesia do the right thing," Mr Goff said. "The summit moved from its focus on economic issues to much wider areas."

Helen Clark has a busy schedule of bilateral meetings with leaders from Friday through to Sunday, when she leaves to return home.

She is sure to meet President George W. Bush at some stage during the summit, either formally or at the leaders' retreat.

The member countries of Apec are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

- NZPA