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Trade issues have been overshadowing the investment agenda for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies, but the regional trade body now wants to focus more on the area. It hopes to bolster the slow progress with the help of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
"The main thing will be an impetus for us to work cooperatively for the next one to two years, and beyond," said Roy Nixon, chief of Apec Investment Expert Group. "It's a very good relationship and it's going to get stronger."
Experts representing Apec and the OECD gathered on Monday in Busan City Hall to discuss ways to facilitate investment in the region for the first part of the four-day "Apec Investment Opportunities 2005" forum.
The two-day "Apec-OECD Investment Seminar" features three general topics on the role of investments in development, greater investment mobility and Apec-OECD cooperation.
The 21-member group of Pacific Rim economies started to work with the OECD last year. Their first cooperative meeting was held in Pucon, Chile. It focused on new developments in foreign direct investment trends and investment agreements. It also sought to find potential synergies that could be used in the future within the framework of Apec-OECD cooperation.
"It was the stepping stone, the start of a strategy to develop closer relations with the OECD on issues about foreign investment because they have a lot of expertise," Nixon told the Korea Herald. The official added that the economic organization with 30 members has about 40 years of experience working on investment issues.
"We're trying to move the agenda forward in Apec," stressed Nixon. "The OECD is a logical and natural fit for us to help us move our work forward."
The benefits are mutual. As a lot of the OECD's work is focused on developing a policy framework, it is constantly searching for an audience with which to share the results of its studies.
Seven Apec members are a part of the OECD. They include Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Korea. The only Latin-American country that is a member of the OECD is Mexico.
"There's quite a different pool of countries in Apec. (It's) a very good place to start that work, because it represents a good target audience for OECD in terms of reaching out with their work," said Nixon.
Underscoring Apec's commitment to strengthening investments, Nixon is confident that this year's meeting will see productive results.
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