Vice-Minister Xu
Mr. President and Mr. Secretary-General
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am very pleased to have this opportunity to open the 1st Extraordinary Meeting of the APEC Port Services Network Council. I am especially pleased to be doing so here in Vancouver, which underscores the importance we attach to this new and still very young organization.
With every new organization, there are growing pains and the team you see before you today has done an excellent job in handling these growing pains and challenges. They have put together an interesting agenda that includes issues of relevance for delegates representing the member economies that joined the APSN and for those representing the ports sector.
You will also consider a status report on those commitments that the Council approved in the 2009 Action Plan. Leading among them was the task of promoting the APSN within the APEC family to reach out to all key industry sectors and prospective Regular Members of this new organization. As you will note in the report that was submitted to this meeting, the President and the Secretariat have taken concrete steps towards achieving this objective, and that included promotional missions to Japan, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Singapore. They were very ably assisted in this effort by the Council members in these economies and that underlines an important fact that the promotion of the APSN is a responsibility that we all have as members of this organization.
The APSN is without a doubt a unique organization in the Asia-Pacific region and one that we believe is very much needed. It is unique in the sense that it has the extraordinary advantage of bringing together senior representatives from member economies with the ports sector or with port related industries. And this can literally mean anyone that is linked to the supply chain. From port authorities to logistics companies to shipping lines and terminal operators, there are opportunities to have a forum to discuss the issues that interest all of these members.
In this time of such global economic uncertainty, such a forum is more welcome than ever. As member economies of APEC, we have common goals of facilitating trade, cooperation and dialogue among ourselves. The APSN is another important tool where we can further cooperate in the most important transportation sector for the movement of goods and facilitating trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Marine shipping predominantly moves our exports and imports but has not always received much attention from governments or from industry. While I would not suggest the APSN is the only answer to addressing those concerns, it is an important step in the right direction.
The purpose of the APSN is dialogue. It is networking and sharing best practices. And it is cooperation. One could draw up a very long list of the potential issues the APSN could address but there are certain principles we should always keep in mind. What is heard during the meetings with potential Regular Members is what the APSN needs to be relevant. It needs to deal with issues that are practical and important to ports and port-related industries.
The APSN must also avoid any duplication of work of other international organizations. It is a forum for dialogue and cooperation, which we hope will produce results. However, the APSN is not a treaty-making organization such as the International Maritime Organization. The APSN is also not here to duplicate other important work being carried out by a non governmental organization such as the International Association of Ports and Harbours. In fact, with the very positive contacts that the President and the Secretary-General have made with that organization, I believe there is now a good foundation on which to build a very cooperative relationship between our two organizations.
Canada is thus excited to be part of this new organization and will continue to do all it can to make sure it will be a success. China has also made enormous contribution towards the APSN, starting with the proposal to the Leaders Summit in Vietnam in 2006 to establish the APSN and then advancing it through the APEC Transportation Working towards a successful adoption of the proposal by all APEC economies. China also hosted the inaugural meeting of the APSN in November 2008 in Ningbo and Beijing is the host city for the APSN Secretariat, which at this stage is entirely funded by China.
As I mentioned earlier, the assistance provided by Council Members, particularly in the promotion of the APSN, has been invaluable. But we cannot stop there and we must all make it part of our responsibility to carry out the direction our Leaders set out for us in 2006.
Currently, there are 14 APEC economies that have designated a Council Member to the APSN. It is important that we make efforts to bring that number up to the full 21 APEC economies, thus ensuring the widest representation in the Asia-Pacific region. I also am sure that representation from these other 7 APEC economies would be a significant advantage to the APSN in bringing forward issues that otherwise would not get the necessary attention. I am encouraged by the fact that the Secretary General and the APEC Transportation Working Group Lead Shepherd have made this a priority and will continue to pursue the goal of full APEC membership in the APSN.
I wish to acknowledge the numerous Regular Members, particularly from China, who have made the trip here to Vancouver. I wish to welcome all of you to Canada and I hope this meeting will be of interest to you and will serve as encouragement that this organization is responsive to your needs and is ready to discuss and address your issues. I would in turn, encourage you to bring forward ideas and proposals for discussion at future APSN meetings. The Council members will need your input and will rely on you to tell them what is important to you, your growth and your future. Use this opportunity and make it a success. Encourage your partners within your ports and in other ports to join the APSN.
Your agenda includes three papers submitted by Canada and they are meant to facilitate discussion on:
- the use of information technology in the supply chain;
- on our experience and collaboration with various stakeholders to optimize the performance of ports; and
- on the combination of policy and infrastructure investments to facilitate trade through a gateway for the continent.
These are all issues that are of importance to my government and we hope to share best practices with other APSN members and further develop other ideas for our mutual benefit.
I wish to conclude by saying that it is encouraging to see the economies represented here working together to make the APSN a success. Our Leaders are counting on us, and I believe we can do it, for we all have the same objective. That is to foster dialogue, trade, cooperation and advance ideas that would address those issues of common interest. The Ningbo meeting was an exceptional beginning to this new organization and I believe this meeting in Vancouver will be an excellent continuation. I wish you good luck in your deliberations and thank you for your attention.