III. International Development Agenda

    7. Recognizing that achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is vital for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction, Ministers reviewed the progress reports prepared by theWorld Bank and welcomed the achievements made in the Asian region but noted that the progress toward the MDGs so far had been unevenglobally. Ministers reaffirmed their commitments to the MDGs and noted that urgent action is needed to meet them by 2015. Ministerscalled on the international community to fulfill the commitments they made in Monterrey in 2002.

    8. Ministers recognized that constraints on financing for development are a major obstacle toward meeting the MDGs as scheduled and called on the donor community to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7 percent of GNI as ODA. In this connection, Ministers welcomed the recent EU agreement to reach 0.7% ODA/GNI by 2015, with an interim collective target of 0.56% ODA/GNI by 2010, and welcomed the efforts in developing innovative financing mechanisms. Ministers also stressed the importance of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of aid.

    9. Ministers welcomed the recent announcement of a proposal by the G8 Finance Ministers to provide additional funding to the international financial institutions to finance debt cancellation for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) in London on 11 June, 2005, and urged the international community to further step up efforts, including at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in September 2005, to support the Enhanced HIPC Initiative.

    10. Recognizing that trade is one of the key factors to sustaining global growth and reducing world poverty, Ministers stressed the need to strive for an ambitious and balanced outcome of the Doha Development Agenda, which would deliver real benefits to developing countries. Ministers strongly called for a package to be agreed at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, China,December 2005, to pave the way for a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda by 2006. Ministers welcomed Cambodia, one of the thirteen new ASEM members, recently becoming a WTO member. Ministers also welcomed the efforts of non-WTO ASEM members in their process to WTO accession and expressed their strong support for early accession of Lao PDR and Vietnam to the WTO.

    11. Ministers noted that adequate voice and participation, including all ASEM members of the IMF, should be assured, and the distribution of the quotas should reflect developments in the world economy. Ministers also noted that the Thirteenth General Review of Quotas provides an opportunity to make progress toward aconsensus on the issues of quotas, voice, and participation.

    IV Closer ASEM Economic and Financial Cooperation

    12. Ministers reviewed the progress of the ASEM economic and financial cooperation under the ASEM FMM and agreed to issue the TIANJIN INITIATIVE on Closer ASEM Economic and Financial Cooperation (see Annex), to strengthen the ASEM economic and financial cooperation through enhanced policy dialogue, technical assistance, and examining new approaches in further enhancing the Asia-Europe ties with a long term vision.

    13. Ministers reaffirmed the important role that the ASEM Trust Fund (ATF) has played and agreed to examine the possibility of a successor facility, taking into account reviews of the previous performance of the ATF. Ministers emphasized the importance of capacity building in contributing to the shared prosperity of the two regions and welcomed the concrete activities carried out to this end, such as the implementation of the ASEM Bali Initiative. Ministers reviewed the ASEM Taskforce Report on Closer Economic Partnership, and welcomed its general recommendations, and noted the need for further studies on its concrete recommendations in the financial field, including the development of Asian bond markets. Ministers agreed on the establishment of an ASEM Contingency Dialogue Mechanism for Emergent Economic and FinancialEvents to strengthen the institutional capacity of ASEM to respondto emergencies.

    V. Other Matters

    14. Ministers endorsed the Finance Deputies'Recommendations on Enhancing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the ASEM FMM. Ministers stressed the importance of bringing the role and the function of the ASEM FMM into full play and of strengthening the link with the ASEM Summit.

    15. Ministers underscored the importance of supply chain securityin facilitating trade and providing improved global security. Theyrequested the related ASEM Customs fora to include the issue of supply chain security in their discussions, including the implementation of the new framework currently being decided in theWorld Customs Organization, to identify the possible problems and solutions, including the need for technical assistance in the ASEMmember countries.

    VI. Future Meetings

    16. Ministers agreed that the Seventh ASEM Finance Ministers'Meeting will be held under the Chairmanship of Austria in 2006. Ministers agreed, at the next meeting, to take stock of the policyactions and progress achieved against their recommendations, and asked their Deputies to work out the agenda of the next meeting. This Chairman's Statement will constitute the Finance Ministers'inputs to the Sixth ASEM Summit.

    17. Ministers expressed their appreciation to the Chinese authorities for their excellent arrangement of the meeting and thewarm hospitality offered by the people of Tianjin.

    VII. Annex

    Tianjin Initiative on Closer ASEM Economic and Financial Cooperation Enditem