English/Nat The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit has been winding up in Brunei. The nations have reached a compromise, calling for a new round of world trade talks that would consider the needs of developing countries, which fear they are being left behind in the new global economy. The most recent world trade talks failed miserably last year in Seattle as riots raged outside. Led by President Clinton, wealthy nations had entered this year's annual summit of the 21-member forum hoping to urge the World Trade Organization to start new talks by 2001. But Malaysia insisted on seeing an agenda first, saying they are tired of being pushed around in the W-T-O by their wealthy trading partners. After two days of talks, the leaders struck a compromise: They decided to call for an agenda first - as the poor nations wanted - and push for talks to start next year, which the rich nations sought. The poor nations are furious at the insistence of the United States and other wealthy countries that new trade talks include provisions on environmental protection and workers' rights. Poor nations say that could undermine their key competitive advantages in the global economy - their ability to exploit cheap labor and natural resources. They accuse the West of hypocrisy in seeking labour and environmental standards that took years to develop in nations that already had been industrialized. APEC can only urge the W-T-O to begin new talks, so Thursday's statement does not necessarily mean talks will begin next year. In another development, the final APEC communique said China should be accepted into the WTO soon, followed quickly by Taiwan and sometime later by Russia and Vietnam. China has been trying for years to get into the Geneva-based group that sets global trade rules and now appears quite close. A final sticking point for China's W-T-O bid is a trade pact with Mexico, which wants assurances that the Chinese won't flood its market with cheap goods. In it's final declaration the organisation also praised the efforts of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung to create a warming of relations with North Korea. The APEC summit in oil-rich Brunei is Clinton's last and comes at a time when many of the group's leaders face uncertainties or even serious threats to their rule. Philippine President Joseph Estrada faces an impeachment proceeding over corruption charges, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is reeling after a scandal involving his spy chief that has forced him to say he will quit next year and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is up against efforts from within his own party to call a no-confidence vote. SOUNDBITE: (English) "During the course of our latest meeting here in Brunei, it has become clear to us that we must meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the new millennium. Despite encouraging signs of a return to strong growth, we are determined not to be complacent. Globalisation raises our stake in a healthy rules-based multilateral trading system, but launching a new round of global trade talks must benefit all the WTO members, especially the least developed and developing economies." SUPER CAPTION: Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah SOUNDBITE: (English) "Our future lies in our youth. The investments we make in encouraging them to cherish the region's rich cultural diversity and developing their skills will help determine the future of globalisation." SUPER CAPTION: Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah SOUNDBITE: (English) "We commend President Kim for his contribution to the process of reconciliation and cooperation in the Korean peninsular since the first inter-Korean summit. We support President Kim's endeavour to encourage the participation of North Korea in the APEC working group." You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3ed77b86184afc9835fc412ce4bd0a0c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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