The Treasurer leaves for Jakarta today for meetings with key Indonesian Ministers en route to the 2000 APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Brunei.
The visit to Jakarta provides an important opportunity to strengthen Australian contacts with members of the new Cabinet and revamped economic team announced by President Wahid on 23 August.
In Brunei, the Treasurer will be attending the major annual gathering of the regions finance ministers. In meetings with his counterparts from APEC economies including the United States, Japan, China and Canada, the Treasurer will discuss recent economic developments and plans for structural reform.
The 7th APEC Finance Ministers Meeting will take place on 9-10 September. The timing of the Finance Ministers meeting is now much closer to that of the APEC Leaders meeting (November 2000), giving Finance Ministers a better opportunity to contribute to the Leaders agenda. International financial architecture and structural reform are expected to be key themes. The meeting will provide an opportunity to emphasise the importance of APECs goals of trade and investment liberalisation to long term growth. There will also be discussion of the economic outlook for the region.