12th APEC Transportation Working Group Meeting, Taipei, Chinese Taipei
September 29 - October 3, 1997
Agenda Item 11, TPTIWG1 2/PLENII 1/Final, Plenary Session

1. OPENING STATEMENT AND WELCOME

Chinese Taipei hosted the Twelfth Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation (TPT) Working Group in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, September 29 to October 03 1997. The first two days, there were Expert's and Subgroup meetings. It was then followed by a two day plenary session, the proceedings of which are set out below. The meeting concluded with visits to Kao-hsiung International airport and harbor.

2. Also during the first two days, the 2^nd APEC Urban Transport Forum was hosted by Chinese Taipei. 60 delegates from 17 APEC member economies and the APEC Secretariat attended. A wide range of issues were presented and fruitful discussions were held.

3. At the TPT-WG 12, 205 participants from 18 member economies (Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong,China; Indonesia; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico, New Zealand; Papua New Guinea., the Republic of the Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and the United States of America) were in attendance. One representative from the APEC Secretariat also attended the meeting. A complete list of participants appears in Document TPT[WG121PLEN/INF.1/FINAL.

4. Opening remarks were made by Chinese Taipei, as host economy, welcoming delegates to Taipei and stressing the importance of the meeting, not only for the exchanges of information and expertise on transportation issues in the region, but also for advancing the TPT action program in its efforts to meet the goals of the Bogor, Osaka, and Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA).

11. CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA

5. The agenda (TPTIWG1 2/PLEN/2) was adopted without amendment.

Ill. SHEPHERDS' REPORT

6. The draft Shepherds' Report was submitted at the Heads of Delegation

meeting. Comments were requested. A revised Shepherds' Report (TPT/WG121PLEN/3/REV.2) was submitted to the Plenary for approval and was adopted.

IV. SECRETARIAT REPORT BY DIRECTOR PROGRAM

The Director Program of the APEC Secretariat provided the following report (TPT/WG121PLEN/4.1):

Meeting of SOM II. Quebec City Canada

7. SOM 11 was held in Quebec City May 13 - 15, 1997. Following on from

discussions at SOM 1, the Chair again stressed that Canada's objectives for APEC 1997 were to implement decisions and plans, and to achieve tangible and measurable results in both trade and investment, and economic and technical cooperation. 1

8. The Committee of the Whole (COW) was held May 14 1997 in Quebec City as part of SOM 11. The COW brought together for the first time the APEC Senior Officials, Working Group Lead Shepherds and Chairs of Committees and ad hoc groups. The objective of the meeting was to begin to articulate outcomes for the economic and technical cooperation agenda under the six priority themes in the Declaration on an APEC Framework for Strengthening Economic Cooperation and Development. The COW discussed activities under the six priority themes and also addressed the implementation of outcomes, administrative issues, including managing crosscutting activities, coordination and communication across APEC fora.

Meeting of SOM Ill, St John's Newfoundland Canada

9. SOM Ill was held in St John's Newfoundland August 28 - 30 1997. In his opening remarks, the Chair especially noted the importance of developing a final product on infrastructure, which was a high priority among APEC leaders.

10. SOM agreed that the product for the Vancouver Meeting should be a clear, concise political statement including the framework for facilitating private investment in infrastructure in the region, as requested by Leaders in the Subic statement supported by a more detailed background reference paper.

11. The SOM concluded that the COW would continue into the next year, but serious consideration would be given to developing a more coordinated system of management and consultation for the Ecotech process in the longer term.

Task Force on Management Issues

12. The Task Force on Management urged officials to ensure that Ministerial decisions that impinge upon other working groups should be coordinated through SOM.

13. They also agreed that the Secretariat should not accept any requests for further database projects until the BAC reviews this issue.

Budget and Administrative Committee

14. The BAC noted that projects involving databases should in future be based on market survey and be asked to explain how they would ensure their long term financial sustainability.

15. Projects even with the endorsement by Lead Shepherd/Chairs but submitted after the prescribed deadline would, as a matter of principle, not be considered unless very compelling justifications were provided.

16. They also noted that projects should be regarded as completed only when the evaluation reports have been completed.

Non-Member Participation in APEC Activities

17. The APEC Program Director drew to the TPT's attention the clarifications on the procedure of The Consolidated Guidelines on Non-Member Participation in APEC Working Group Activities (TPT/WG12/PLEN/4.3).

18. The SOM endorsed the recommendation of the Task Force on management issues that non-members, including those who participate in working group activities, should not be allowed to attend Sectoral Ministerial Meetings (TPTIWG121PLEN/4.3). '

V. TPT MANAGEMENT MATTERS

Report from Shepherds/Heads of Delegations Meeting (TPT/WG12/PLEN/5.1b/Rev.3

19. The Working Group endorsed a number of management matters initially agreed by the Shepherds and Heads of Delegations at their meeting.

20. The Working Group agreed to develop a TPT guidebook (TPT/WG12/PLEN/5.1a) which would include the following: the most recent APEC Leaders statement, the most recent Joint Transportation Ministers' Statement, The TPT Action Programme (TPT/WG/12PLEN/5.1/Rev.3), most recent TPT submissions to CTI and SOM, most recent CTI and SOM Chair's Summary reports/conclusions, TPT project proposal approval guidelines, the Chair's report of the last TPT meeting, a list of TPT projects currently being funded by the APEC Secretariat, a list of TPT shepherds and steering committee coordinators and their contact details, a list of lead economy contacts for TPT projects, a list of TPT economy contacts, a list of past TPT meeting venues and hosts, and youth forum recommendations.

21. The Group agreed that future TPT meetings would provide for 2 days of experts and subgroup meetings, avoiding duplication or timing overlap, with a day for steering committees to determine their reports to the Plenary. The steering committee coordinators and Heads of Delegations would meet later that day to review the draft reports. The Plenary would therefore be reduced to one day to receive reports and conduct other business.

22. A revised version of the TPT-WG Action Program was circulated for the Group's comments. Updated information was incorporated and after discussion, the Action Program was finalized (TPT/WG121PLEN/5.1/Rev.3).

23. Also circulated for TPT review and updating were the ECOTECH matrix of TPT activities for submission to the SOM a report (including a matrix) of TPT TILF-related activities. After updating and discussion, these documents were finalized and provided to the APEC Secretariat to forward to the SOM and CTI.

24. The New Zealand Shepherd provided background and summarized the main features of the proposed project proposal guidelines (TPT/WG12/PLEN/5.1c). He indicated that all projects for commencement in 1998 or after would need to be submitted in the new format for the 13^th and subsequent meetings and the 4-week rule would be strictly enforced. The TPT approved the guidelines as drafted. -

25. A concern was raised however regarding WG-13 at which 2 seminars would be held. However, the Group then discussed how to structure the 13^th TPT meeting to accommodate the 2 seminars currently scheduled.

26. Regarding non-member participation, the meeting agreed to the application for guest status from Mongolia and that it should be referred to the SOM for decision by the APEC Secretariat. In respect of the application from the FAPAA, it was decided that more information was necessary before the TPT could reach consensus on the application. It was decided that the APEC Secretariat should provide the FAPAA with a copy of the TPT Action Program and invite it to provide more information on the contribution it could make to the work of the group.

27. The Working Group approved selection of 1998/1999 TPT Lead Shepherd: Indonesia, Deputy Lead Shepherd: Canada, and the three steering committee coordinators as follows: More Competitive Transportation Industry: Korea, Safe and Environment-friendly transportation systems: USA and Human Resources Development: Australia. (TPT/WG12/PLEN/5.1 b/Rev.3). After agreement on establishing steering committees, there was discussion on their composition and how they would function and terms of reference.

28. Volunteers were asked from each member economy to work on the Steering Committees, and there was a preliminary discussion of how those committees would operate, including rationalizing the growing number of TPT projects. There was a wide range of views. Regarding the composition of Steering Committees, some economies recommended membership should be open to all economies while others recommended that a "core" group be formed in the interest of greater efficiency. Korea, supported by Japan in particular, stressed the importance of the principle that the Steering Committees should be open to all member economies because every member economy can participate in the projects within the parameters of each respective committee. Some economies raised concerns that the Steering Committees might become another layer in the TPT decision making process. On the issue of rationalizing the TPT's work and better managing future activities, Korea suggested a comprehensive study of all existing and new TPT activities for the purpose of developing a more streamlined action program that would avoid duplication among TPT projects.

Emphasizing the coordinating role of the Steering Committees, Thailand then recommended that a terms of reference be developed. The lead Shepherd offered to draft the terms of reference which would address Steering Committee composition and coordination function, and would be circulated to all member economies in the near future. This was agreed to by the TPT-WG.

VI. FOLLOW-UP FROM SECOND TRANSPORTATION MINISTERIAL

Establishment/Report of Maritime Safety Experts Group (Canada)

29. Canada provided a report on the first meeting of the Experts Group on Maritime Safety (TPT/WG12/PLEN/6.1 a/Rev) which concerned: (i) developing terms of reference to guide the Group's future work and (ii) considering projects which would fall within the purview of the Group. It was noted that a guiding principle of the Group would be to avoid duplication of work within the competence of other international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The following recommendations by the Group were accepted by the Plenary:

1. Approve the Draft Terms of Reference of the Experts Group and circulate them to all member economies and advise that the first formal meeting of the Group of Maritime Safety Experts will be held concurrent with TPT-WG 13. 2. Approve the development and circulation of a survey to identify the safety issues and problems in the Region. 3. Approve the circulation of the Australian Paper entitled "Safer Shipping in the Asia Pacific Region: An Integrated Approach" and note that it will be submitted for approval at TPT-WG 13.

Establishment/Report of Road Safety Experts Group (Chinese Taipei)

30. On September 29, the first preliminary Road Transportation Safety Experts Group meeting was held and representatives from 11 member economies attended the meeting. The proposal for the establishment of a Road Transportation Safety Experts Group had been discussed thoughtfully in the meeting. Following the discussion, the proposal had been revised, (see TPT/WG 12/PLEN/6.2) and submitted to the plenary meeting for approval. The plenary meeting accepted this proposal and also the offer from Chinese Taipei to lead this study, Chinese Taipei expressed its thanks for the support from all member economies and encouraged member economies to recommend experts to join this team.

Consultative Forum for Classification Societies (Indonesia)

31. Indonesia reminded the TPT-WG that Transportation Ministers at their 2^nd meeting had expressed support for consideration by the TPT-WG of the establishment of an informal consultative forum with classification societies to improve their effectiveness in promoting compliance with international maritime standards in the region. In line with that support, Indonesia proposed a First Informal Consultative Forum for Classification Societies to be held in Bali August 20-21 1998 (TPTANG12/PLEN/6.3 & 6.3a). Though New Zealand expressed the view that there was little information in the current proposal to assess its APEC value, Indonesia noted that there was sufficient information (contained in TPT/WGI2/PLEN/6.3a) to support holding the forum. It was suggested that consideration of the forum proposal be deferred until the 13^th TPT meeting, by which time the proposal could be prepared in conformity with the new TPT project proposal guidelines and considered against other TPT project proposals. This was agreed and Australia, Canada and New Zealand indicated willingness to assist Indonesia to develop the proposal further. It was agreed that additional input from member economies -be provided to Indonesia within a month. The revised proposal and discussion of it will take place at the 13^th TPT-WG meeting in Mexico.

Women and Youth (Canada

32. The TPT-WG commanded Canada's proposed initiative aimed at fostering the participation of women in the transportation sector (described in discussion paper TPT/WG12/PLEN/6.4). The objectives of this initiative are the creation of a project team/small group to develop the terms of reference for a gender specific project for consideration by the TPT-WG 13 and the establishment of a formal link with HRD-WG to ensure that TPT-WG's gender specific project complements HRD-WG activities with respect to training and development initiatives for women in the transportation sector. The TPT-WG also noted the desirability of working closely with other APEC and international forums and agreed that Canada, working intersessionally with interested economies and mindful of resource constraints, bring forward a detailed project proposal for consideration at the TPT-WG's 13^th meeting.

33. Canada expressed pleasure at the outcome of the Youth Forum held in conjunction with the Second Ministerial and thanked member economies for their active support in making this first Forum such a success. Canada also tabled a paper (TPT/WG12/PLEN/6.4a) suggesting where in the TPT Action Program the Youth recommendations are/may be taken into account and suggested that the three TPT-WG coordinators be tasked with the objective of incorporating youth recommendations into the Action Program as appropriate, As well, it was agreed that the youth recommendations should be included in the TPT-WG Guidebook.

ITS (Australia)

34. In response to the request from Transport Ministers, Australia prepared a proposal (TPT/WG12/PLEN/6.5) for a project to develop a framework of standards for the initial application of ITS to vehicle identification, safety, location and tolling and to examine new developments in infrastructure technology. Australia offered to lead Phases 1 and 2 of the proposed project which relate to identification of the extent to which ITS technology is being utilized in APEC economies and the standards applied to these technologies. The first meeting of the ITS Special Interest Group is scheduled to be held in Berlin on October 22 1997 in room 36 International Congress Center. Nine economies advised attendance at the ITS Special Interest Group meeting. Australia undertook to provide a revised project proposal to reflect comments provided by members for discussion at the Berlin meeting. Korea drew member economy's attention to the 5^th ITS World Congress which would be held in Seoul in October 1998.

VII. STATUS OF ONGOING PROJECTS (INCLUDING INITIATIVES FROM 1995 MINISTERIAL)

Survey of Transportation Systems and Services/APEC TPT Home Page: Annual Update (TPT 02/93: United States)

35. Transportation Systems and Services: Delegates at the Eleventh meeting made a decision to convert the Survey and Systems into electronic means. It was decided that the $4,500 that was originally allocated and approved for the updating of the survey in 1996 would be used for the electronic conversion. These funds were reprogrammed to create a TPT home page. In consultation with the Secretariat, it was agreed to install a file transport protocol that would be connected to the APEC Home Page. The United States recommended that the Transportation Systems project should be terminated and that recommendation was accepted by the TPT.

EDI Project (Australia)

36. EDI Project: Australia tabled three documents related to electronic commerce:

1. Funding Proposal to Assist the Implementation of Electronic Commerce for Commercial Messages TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.2

2. Electronic Commerce Projects in APEC Groups TPT/WG12/PLEN7.2a

3. Requirement for paper documents TPT/WG12/PLEN7.2b

The TPT WG agreed to the following:

The proposal in Document TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.2 to seek APEC funding for an extended electronic commerce project under the auspices of the TPT WG should be revised into the new project proposal format and resubmitted for consideration at TPT-WG13. The proposal should be discussed with delegates to the CTI SSCP before submission to TPT-WG13 to ensure it does not duplicate CTI SSCP work and is complementary to that work.

Electronic Commerce Proiects in APEC Groups

The TPT WG noted the projects mentioned in paper (TPTIWG121PLEN[7.2a), which are being undertaken under the auspices of APEC groups promoting electronic commerce.

The paper TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.2a should be made available through the Secretariat for distribution and consideration by other APEC working groups undertaking electronic commerce projects.

Other APEC working groups will be invited to put forward proposals to the TPT-WG on the most effective way of using the results of their electronic commerce projects to develop recommendations on best practices for the application of electronic commerce technologies in the transport and related trading sectors.

The TPT WG will consider, in light of the proposals made, the best way to achieve the close coordination between APEC Working Groups directed by Ministers at their meeting in Victoria.

Requirements for Paper Documents

The WG agreed to the recommendations in TPT/WG12/PLEN[7.2b & c.

lntermodal Task Force (United States)

37. lntermodal Task Force: the inaugural meeting of the APEC lntermodal Task Force (ITF) was held on 29 September 1997. The meeting approved a proposed action plan (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.3) and prioritized 14 tasks under the group's goals and objectives. In consideration of the APEC budgetary cycle, the ITF members placed great emphasis on developing those identified action items that could be accomplished over the next year using existing members' resources. The ITF also recognized the need for private sector participation and resources to address the intermodal challenges presented in the Congestion Points Study. In preparation for the 13^th meeting of the APEC Transportation Working Group (TPT), assignments were undertaken by the member economies for initiation of the high priority tasks. Work will begin on the eight high priority action items to support the implementation of the ITF agenda.

APEC Database of Transportation Technology Research (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.4)

38. At the meeting of the TPT in Seattle, working group delegates concluded that it would be useful to survey existing mechanisms for professional exchange among member economies. This survey would be used as a reference for interested economies in planning possible exchange programs. The United States as lead economy tabled a survey of existing exchange mechanisms and requested that member economies complete and return the survey three weeks prior to the 12^th meeting. To date, 7 economies have submitted responses to the survey: Australia; Hong Kong,China; Japan; New Zealand; Singapore; Chinese Taipei and the United States. It is imperative that the remaining economies respond to the survey in order that a determination can be made on the interests and the resources available for the project. The deadline for submission is January 01 1998. If economies would prefer to use existing bilateral arrangements, then the TPT will develop a position on the future of this initiative.

39. At the 11^th meeting of the TPT in Seattle, working group delegates concluded that it would be useful to survey existing mechanisms for professional exchange among member economies. This survey would be used as a reference for interested economies in planning possible exchange programs. The United States as lead economy tabled a survey of existing exchange mechanisms and requested that member economies complete and return the survey. They indicated that surveys had been received from Australia, Hong Kong,China; Japan; New Zealand; Singapore; Chinese Taipei and the United States. It is imperative that the remaining economies respond to the survey in order that a determination can be made on the interests and the resources available for the project. The deadline for submission is January 01 1998.

Road Transport Harmonization Project and Modal Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Automotive Product (Australia)

40. Two papers were circulated by Australia for consideration of members: The Road Transport Harmonization Project Report (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.5) and Model Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Automotive Product (TPT/WG12/PLEN 7.5a).

The Road Transport Harmonization Project (RTHP) group presented its report of meeting held 29 and 30 September 1997 (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.5b/Rev.1). JASIC, the consultant for TPT 01/97, provided its progress report which advised that the work was on schedule. The draft final report is expected to be circulated for comment in December 1997. Work is progressing to have the 1996 and 1997 reports on the APEC Secretariat website once technical difficulties have been resolved.

The group agreed on the Request for Proposal for the 1998 consultancy to analyze certification and conformity assessment arrangements for road vehicles in APEC economies. Following endorsement of the model Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Automotive Product by Transport Ministers, members were encouraged to utilize the MRA to facilitate trade. The RTHP group agreed to seek endorsement from TPT-WG to establish a reporting mechanism to TPT-WG through the RTHP group to monitor use of the MRA. Transport Ministers also encouraged APEC members to engage in dialogue with the UN/ECE on global harmonization of vehicle standards. Some members of the RTHP group stated that consideration of the draft Global Agreement would not be possible until work on the Agreement had been completed. The United States indicated that it expected the work to be completed by November 5 1997, the target signature date contained in the draft Global Agreement.

Japan offered to prepare a discussion paper on the need for analysis of other vehicle safety and environmental standards to assist the project group to determine the need for future APEC funding. The report of the RTHP group was adopted by TPT-WG without amendment.

41. The United States expressed the view that the only process for developing global vehicle regulations that currently exists is the UN/ECE proposed global agreement. The 1958 Agreement is a European based agreement designed to allow for the development of regional vehicle regulations that benefit the principal European states. The Working Party on the construction of vehicles (WP.29), although a global body, is only an administrative body, one that is separate from the 1958 Agreement. Hence, in accordance with the joint ministerial statement which encourages dialogue with the UN/ECE in connection with its proposal to establish a global agreement on road vehicle regulations, the United States cannot stress enough how important it is that APEC economies become involved with UN/ECE, not only by commenting on the agreement, but also ensuring that the Global Agreement is concluded quickly so that the work of developing globally harmonized regulations begins as soon as possible.

International vehicle Standards Harmonization Seminar (Australia)

42. The International Vehicle Standards Harmonization Seminar is to be held in

conjunction with TPT-WG 13 in Mexico on April 21 1998. A proposed agenda (TPT[WG121PLENf7.6)has been circulated to members for comment. It was agreed at the meeting of the Road Transport Harmonization Project Group that an invitation is extended to a representative of the Secretariat of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Seafarers Training Project Indonesial

43. TPT-WG noted the progress report on the Seafarers Training Project (TPT/WP12/PLEN/7.7/Rev.1). Indonesia stated it would follow the APEC procedures in selecting consultants, including forming a project steering committee and preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP). Indonesia urged member economies to submit their nominations for the Steering Committee; the project will be started in January 1998.

Regional Cooperation on Oil Spills: Preparedness and Response Arrangements (Philippines)

44. The Philippines submitted a final report (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.8). Malaysia noted that information from some economies was still outstanding. The Working Group set a final deadline of December 01 1997. At that point the compiled documents will be sent to the APEC Secretariat for printing and dissemination. The Philippines reminded members that Ministers had encouraged the development and maintenance of sub-regional cooperative quick response contingency plans. Japan noted a possible duplication of oil spill activities with the Asia-Pacific Maritime Safety Agency's Forum. The TPT decided to organize an expert's meeting at the 1 31h TPT-WG on this subject, inviting the Forum to the meeting and allowing the Steering Committee to decide what the next step will be to fulfill the mandate given the group and already reflected in the TPT Action Program.

Aviation Personnel Licensing (Australia)

45. Australia presented a report on the Aviation Personnel Licensing Project (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.9) which advised that liaison had taken place with the United States on the issue of including exchanges of aviation personnel licensing officials within the Transportation Technical Exchange Program. It had been concluded that in the absence of central funding for the TTEP, the TTEP does not appear to offer significant advantages over bilateral exchanges organized directly by economies. The Working Group encouraged members to participate actively in aviation personnel exchanges through whichever mechanisms may best achieve beneficial outcomes for the parties involved. Australia then advised its view that The Aviation Personnel Licensing Project was complete and this was accepted by the TPT.

Port Experts Group (Japan)

46. Japan presented a report on the third meeting of the Port Experts Group (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.10). The interactive web based Port Data Base is near completion as a first vital step for all activities of the Port Experts'Group, and the actual work for Theme 2 "Regional Port Development Strategy" and Theme 3 "Port Administration, Management and Operation' had started. The work on Theme 4 "Environmental Considerations" and Theme 5 "Technical Standards and Technology Development" had started with the collection of necessary data. Japan urged economies currently not involved in the Port Experts Group to join and establish the Port Data Base in order to improve the capacity and efficiency of the ports in the APEC region. The report was endorsed by the Plenary.

Maritime Initiative (Japan)

47 Following the direction of Joint Ministerial Statement, the Second Maritime Initiative Meeting chaired by Japan was held September 30 1997. The Group discussed the principles to be covered in the Maritime Mission Statement and a draft Statement attached to (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.11/Rev. 1). It was agreed that the draft statement would be circulated to all member economies for consideration and submitted for final agreement at the 13^th TPT-WG. Japan also proposed a Transparency Exercise (attachment B to TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.11/Rev.1), which would provide the basic information for further discussion to promote the mutual understandings of maritime transport policy in member economies. It was agreed that Japan would circulate a draft questionnaire prior to the next Maritime Initiative meeting. The US proposed that the questionnaire should also cover non-govemmental measures and the US would prepare a draft proposal and circulate it in the same way. Canada indicated its interest in a project concerning possible regional coordination with respect to ratification/accession and implementation of the HNS Convention. However, there was no consensus in developing a project proposal.

Establishment/Report of Satellite Navigation & Communication Advisor Committee

(USA)

48. The Satellite Navigation and Communications Systems (SN&C) Advisory Committee held its first meeting in Chinese Taipei and selected the United States as Chair with a Vice Chair coming from the maritime sector. Singapore offered to serve as Vice Chair in the interim. The SN&C Advisory Committee also developed and endorsed a Mission Statement, Terms of Reference, and Initial Task List which were approved by the TPT-WG (TPT/WP12/PLEN/7.12).

The Committee further noted that APEC has an important role to play in adding Ministerial impetus and influence to the regional implementation of SN&C systems. The Committee sees its role as oversighting and facilitating the regional developments in SN&C which are progressing in the main under the auspices of ICAO and IMO. The Advisory Committee endorsed the "ICAO World wide CNS/ATM Systems implementation Conference," which will be held May 11-15 1998 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and encouraged all eligible APEC Economies to attend at a suitably senior level, including from Finance Ministries. This conference will provide an excellent opportunity for CNS/ATM stakeholders (i.e. users, operators, service providers and regulators) to develop personal contacts and encourage the cross:-flow of information between regions. The next meeting of the SN&C Advisory Committee will take place February 18 -21 1998 in Singapore.

Group of Experts on Aviation Safety (Canada)

49. In response to the direction of APEC Transport Ministers, the Group of Experts on Aviation Safety and Assistance (GEASA) agreed on the following mechanisms to implement the GEASA recommendations that Ministers accepted (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.13):

?Establishing Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs): Each economy will be responsible to establish its CAA.

?Safety Oversight: The Directors General of Civil Aviation of the Asia Pacific Region will be requested to take a lead role in safety oversight.

?The Steering Committee on Safe and Environmentally Friendly Transportation Systems will assess the implementation status of the GEASA recommendations for report to the Ministers.

. Civil Aviation Safety Academy Approach: ICAO will be asked to develop a

• Application of ITS in Urban Transport.

• The Participation of the Private Sector in Urban Transport.

In the plenary meeting, delegates thanked Chinese Taipei for hosting this Forum. Korea as the lead economy suggested that to conclude this activity, there will be another Urban Transport Forum to be held next year. However, the host for the 3^rd UTF was not determined at the 2^nd Forum. Delegates will have two months to discuss this with their respective organizations and notify Chinese Taipei. Korea, the lead economy advised it would develop a best practices manual based on the findings from all UTF meetings.

Group on More Competitive Air Services with Fair and Equitable Opportunity

(Singapore)

51. Group on More Competitive Air Services with Fair and Equitable Opportunity: In June 1997, the Transportation Ministers endorsed the Options Paper developed by the Air Services Group in October 1995 and determined that the Air Services group should reconvene to analyze and prioritize the eight options and prepare on a consensus basis, a recommendation on the options to be developed and how they will be implemented and submit a comprehensive final report to them by mid 1998. Singapore has written to all economies informing that the Air Service Group meeting will be convened on October 14 -16 1997 in Singapore. To facilitate discussion at the meeting, Singapore has invited member economies to provide papers giving their recommendations on how each of the eight options could be implemented, their manner of implementation and the time frame for their respective implementation.

Technical Transportation Exchange Program (USA)

52. Technical Transportation Exchange Program (TPT-WG12/PLEN/7.16): Japan reported that the budget request for the publication of hard copies of updated database in 1998 was approved by BAC (US$6,000)) in July 1997.

Feasibility of Center for Transportation Research, Development and Education (Indonesia)

53. Virtual Center for Transportation Research, Development and Education in the Asia Pacific Region: (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.17/Rev.1&7.17a). The TPT-WG agreed agreed to the suggestion of the Steering Committee to expedite the collection of the completed questionnaires from institutions providing Transportation Research Development and Education in each economy. Member economies were encouraged to discuss the concept of a virtual center for Transportation Research Development and Education with appropriate institutions in their economies and relay their findings to members of the Steering Committee.

Group to Facilitate Privatization or Corporatization of Infrastructure (Indonesia)

54 Indonesia presented a report of the first Workshop on Privatization and Corporatization of Transport Infrastructure Projects in APEC d in Bali on 20-22 August 1997 (TPT/WG12/PLEN/7.18 & 7.18a) lts theme was, "Best Practices Model for Private Participation in Transport Infrastructure Projects in APEC". The workshop developed an Outline of a "Proposed Best Practices Manual". The 2^nd Workshop will be held in Mexico City, Mexico on April 20-21 1998. The report was noted by the Working Group.

VII. Funding of TPT Projects

55. With regard to budgetary and other guidelines for TPT projects, the Working Group agreed under Agenda Item 5 to adopt new guidelines, (TPT/WG12/PLEN/5.1c).

56. Australia submitted a funding proposal for a project to improve seafarer training in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia (and possibly Brunei Darussalam) to provide compliance with the revised IMO convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW), (Document TPT/WG12/PLEN/8.1). In light of the Working Group decision to consider all funding proposals at its next meeting, the Working Group noted that the funding proposal will be submitted for approval at TPT-WG 13.

IX Tabling of Reports from Member Economies

57. Reports were received from all member economies. Australia and Korea made oral reports.

X. Other Issues

58. It was confirmed that the TPT-WG 13 will be held in Mexico City, Mexico . April 20 - 24, 1998. There will be two additional meetings at the same time: The 2^nd Workshop on Privatization and Corporatization of Transport Infrastructure Projects and the International Vehicle Standards Harmonization Seminar. Mexico would appreciate support to have a productive meeting in Mexico City.

59. The TPT-WG agreed to hold its 14^th meeting in Seoul, Korea.

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