TPT/16/SC/HOD…
HONG KONG, CHINA

 APEC TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP
 HOSTING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MINISTERIAL & TPT-WG MEETINGS
 NEW ZEALAND

Background

APEC working groups rely on Ministerial meetings not only for their mandate, but also for direction on specific issues. A number of projects undertaken by the Transportation Working Group (TPT-WG) owe their life to Ministers having identified issues of particular importance. Projects also often get to a point where further Ministerial direction is required before any further work can be done. This can become a problem if there are long periods between Ministerial meetings.

So far, there have been two Transportation Ministerial meetings, the first at Washington D.C. in 1995 and the second at Victoria, Canada, in 1997. Over two years have now passed since the last time Ministers gathered to discuss the TPT-WG’s work programme. The TPT-WG could soon find itself in a serious situation where some of its work loses momentum due to a lack of Ministerial direction.

Compared to TPT-WG meetings, Ministerial-level meetings are expensive to organise and can involve a considerable drain on resources, which may be a disincentive to other economies hosting. High expectations of what a meeting programme must entail and what facilities and services economies might feel obligated to provide may also act as a disincentive.

In considering this paper, it is recommended that HODs refer to the Secretariat’s "Guidelines for Hosting APEC Meetings", available from the Secretariat website: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/apec_organization/policy_procedure/hosting_mtg/hosting_mgt.html

Comment

New Zealand has discussed this situation with Australia and both economies share the concern that cost might be an impediment to Transportation Ministers meeting regularly. Both economies feel that it is time for the TPT-WG to agree to some broad principles allowing the hosting of "economical" meetings, at both Ministerial and Working Group level. These principles would establish the "base level" of meeting facilities and services that a host economy should provide. In particular, we believe that the principle of "user pays" should apply for facilities and services that cannot be funded by governments or through commercial sponsorships. Accommodation is usually in this category, but for example, morning/afternoon refreshments and/or lunches could be met by means of a registration fee, or by direct payment. Other ancillary costs, e.g. delegation rooms, might also be met by individual delegations.

Establishing these principles need not be unduly prescriptive or bureaucratic. What the TPT would do is simply establish for its own purposes that where appropriate, an economy may choose to host a meeting and provide only the base level of facilities and services, with the membership meeting the additional costs of facilities and services.

We would suggest that as a base level for TPT-WG meetings, the host economy should provide:

• the venue, including meeting rooms,
• a meeting secretariat,
• a welcoming function

Any other services or facilities, over and above these basics, including field trips, would be entirely at the host’s discretion.

With respect to Ministerial meetings in particular, we are strongly of the view that a new approach is required. This could involve Ministers and/or delegations meeting more of the costs than has been the case in the past. For example, although it has been the "custom" that Ministers’, their spouses’ and the Observer HODs’ accommodation and local transportation costs are provided by the host economy, perhaps it is time to question whether this should prevail on all occasions.

Another option to reduce costs may be to just focus on the specifics required for Ministers to achieve their objectives and, dependent on the ability of the host to resource the meeting, dispense with other activities such as industry or industry/Minister forums. (This option would not be desirable on a continuing basis, as it would limit private sector involvement in APEC activities.)

Conclusion

This paper is presented as a "think piece" for Shepherds and HODs to consider:

1 whether the TPT needs to make it clear to all economies that a "base level" of hosting combined with a "user pays" approach is acceptable to the TPT, and

2 whether the prospect of hosting ministerial level meetings would be enhanced if the same approach were adopted.

This page was last updated on 1 Feb, 2008