APEC Finance and Development Program to be Extended for Another Three Years
APEC Finance and Development Program (AFDP), an initiative co-chaired by P.R. China and the World Bank, aims to strengthen capacity building in the APEC region through the mechanism of the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting. According to the proposal adopted in 2001, the three-year trial period of the AFDP will end in 2004. At the 11th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting held in Santiago, Chile, on 2-3 September 2004, the Deputies decided that the AFDP should be continued, and the extension of AFDP for another three years will start next year.
The decision was made on the situation that member economies in the Asia-Pacific Region are encountering increasingly complex challenges in the areas of finance and development, and that there is still a need for institutional capacity building, and it is crucial to continue the AFDP initiative. Based on this consideration, the Deputies agreed to extend this initiative for another three years. They welcomed the P.R. China's contribution to capacity building and in this regard they took note of the P.R. China's intention to create a permanent institution that will provide training workshops, organize forums, and finance research projects on specific issues of member economies’ common interest.
