Created in November 1995, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is a private sector body that presents recommendations to APEC Leaders and advises APEC officials on businesses’ priorities and concerns.
Comprising members from the private sector in the 21 APEC member economies, ABAC meets four times per year, and ABAC representatives also attend APEC Senior Officials' Meetings, the Annual Ministerial Meeting, sectoral Ministerial Meetings and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
ABAC 2009
ABAC’s work program is guided by the theme ‘Building towards the Bogor Goals with One Community’, and focuses on:
- Accelerating regional economic integration
- Strengthening capacity building and enhancing connectivity
- Championing the need for a model of sustainable development to support growth.
To accelerate regional economic integration, ABAC will continue its efforts in exploring a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) as a practical means to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region. It will identify critical impediments to cross border business and advocate a pro-business environment through greater transparency in regulations and the removal of unfavorable barriers to trade and investment. It will also work to ensure increased mobility of goods, capital and labor, recognizing that these are fundamental to regional economic integration.
As cities are the prime heartbeat of an economy, ABAC will seek to develop and adopt a set of best practices to ensure that cities remain sustainable. It will also urge governments to reinvigorate the APEC Food System, noting that food shortages remain a global concern.
To support SMEs, ABAC will continue to urge governments to provide support programs in the areas of technical infrastructure, access to finance and training to enterprises. The business and regulatory environment must be favorable to facilitate greater connectivity and ensure access to markets of enterprises.
For more information, please visit the ABAC website.