First APEC Ministers' Meeting on World Ocean Problems on in Seoul

The first ministers' meeting of the member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum on the problems of the World Ocean will be held today, April 25, in Seoul, South Korea. Attending will be delegations from Russia, the US, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, and Australia. According to Russia's State Piscatorial Committee, the participants will mainly discuss problems related to fishing, navigation, the rational use and preservation of the resources of the Pacific Ocean, coastal environmental protection, and the development of marine science and technologies. Also touched upon will be the world summit on environmental protection and the stability of the development of the world community to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September this year. Evgeny Nazdratenko, the Chairman of Russia's State Piscatorial Committee, is expected to have talks concerning fishing issues with his colleagues from Japan, South Korea, and other countries. The State Piscatorial Committee believes Russia's participation in this meeting is of extreme importance as go the country's prestige in the Asian-Pacific region and the development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the APEC members. The APEC Intergovernmental Forum was established in November 1989. At this time, it has 21 members and covers the Asia-Pacific region. Russia joined the forum in November 1998. The principal purposes of APEC include the furthering of economic and technological cooperation and the liberalisation of trade and investment. APEC ministers', Prime-Ministers, and Presidents' meetings are held annually.