Auckland To Host Apec Trade Promotion Meeting

Auckland To Host Apec Trade Promotion Working Group Meeting

International trade promotion agency representatives are gathering in Auckland later this month for a meeting hosted by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE).

The Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Working Group on Trade Promotion is holding its 16th meeting at Auckland’s Carlton Hotel on April 29-30.

This is the second opportunity in recent weeks for New Zealand to host international delegates from the 21 APEC economies – the first was in March when Christchurch hosted the APEC Science and Technology Ministers’ meeting and associated events, including NZTE’s Innovation Showcase.

The APEC Working Group on Trade Promotion (WGTP), currently chaired by Lead Shepherd Mr Shinichi Saito of Japan, has an annual budget of around US$300,000 (NZ$440,000) for projects that focus on trade promotion and can be shown to benefit other APEC economies.

The agenda for the New Zealand meeting includes updates on the various projects funded by the WGTP in past years and a session on projects proposed for funding in 2005 – including a project bid from NZTE.

NZTE’s General Manager of Market Services Rod McKenzie is the keynote speaker at the formal WGTP dinner, which will feature New Zealand entertainment, while delegates are also being offered the chance to tour Waiheke Island and to sample New Zealand food and wine at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant.

The WGTP, which first met in 1990, is charged with generating trade flows and facilitating trade throughout the APEC region by organising seminars, training courses, trade fairs and information networking. By taking part in these programmes APEC economies build understanding of how trade can occur more efficiently and effectively.

It recently set goals for the future which include finding innovative solutions to problems in trade financing and co-operation between private and public sector agencies and speeding up the development of electronic commerce, towards a goal of paperless trade. The group is also committed to expanding the concept of trade promotion to include trade in technology as well as physical goods.

To find out more about the APEC Working Group on Trade Promotion visit: www.apecsec.org.sg/apec/apec_groups/working_groups/trade_promotion.html

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