Brazil, Germany may obtain UN council permanent seats
Brazil and Germany on Thursday stressed the need for a expansion and reform of the UN Security Council as they expected to obtain permanent seats in the organization.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Germany counterpart Joschka Fischer made the remarks after a meeting held Thursday afternoon in Brasilia.

"The chances were never so good," said Amorim, adding that the reform of the Security Council is fundamental for the credibility of the United Nations and for making its decisions based on legitimacy.

Fischer echoed Pampuro's view, saying that the Security Council needed to become a better forum of "multilateralism" by receiving new members.

The two ministers stressed their countries' contributions on the world stage.

Brazil, Germany, India and Japan launched a united campaign forpermanent seats on the council with mutual pledges of support for each other's candidacies. Any expansion would require the approvalof the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.

Fischer, who also met President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will leave for Sao Paulo Friday.

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APEC ministerial meeting ends with pledges on trade Ministers from 21 member economies of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum ended here Thursday their two-day meeting with a joint statement pledging more efforts in trade facilitation, human security, sustainable development and macroeconomic stability. Chilean Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker, who presided over the meeting, told a press conference that APEC has become an effective mechanism to promote trade liberalization and global free trade. On the core topic of trade at the meeting, Walker said the ministers reaffirmed their strong support to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha negotiations and called for continual work on the issue until December 2005, when a new WTO Ministerial Conference is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong. According to Walker, the ministers have agreed to write the issue of free trade agreements (FTAs) into the APEC agenda for the first time. The official said the meeting also called all member economies to take substantial measures to fight corruption and terrorism. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing vowed joint efforts with other APEC members in fighting terrorism and corruption when addressing Thursday's meeting. Li said APEC had adopted a series of joint actions in cracking down on terrorism, which had gained fruits in promoting capacity building of its member economies. As a firm supporter for and participant in combating terror, the Chinese government will continue to support APEC's constructive role in the field, the minister said. China attaches great attention to fighting corruption and commends APEC's anti-corruption action plan, Li said, adding that the government will continue to support international cooperation in the field. China is ready to conduct pragmatic cooperation and share information and experience with other APEC members on the issue, thus help create a just and transparent environment for the economic and social development of the Asian-Pacific region, Li said. Held immediately prior to APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings, the annual ministerial meetings of foreign and economic/trade ministers, as a major part of APEC's decision-making mechanism, take stock of the year's activities and provide recommendations for the upcoming leader's meeting. Under this year's theme of "One Community, Our Future," the ministers also discussed a series of other related topics, including human safety, APEC structural reform. In a joint statement following their two-day meeting, the ministers pledged their efforts towards achieving an open trading system aimed at creating new opportunities in a dynamic and inter-dependent Asia Pacific Region. Regarding the resumption of the WTO talks as a top priority, the ministers said they fully endorsed the July Package adopted bythe WTO General Council, recognizing it as a breakthrough for the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. They also highlighted APEC member economies' contribution to reaching the July Package and their commitment to moving forward the DDA negotiations, said the statement. Chinese Assistant Commerce Minister Yi Xiaozhun told fellow delegates that China will continue to support the forum's contribution to the WTO talks. He urged all parties involved to create favorable conditions for the conclusion of the talks. Yi also said China hopes the Doha Round, called "development round," will give more attention to the demands of developing members. On agreements on regional trading and free trade (RTAs/FTAs), another major trade issue, the ministers said they endorsed the "APEC Best Practices for RTAs/FTAs," a meaningful reference for APEC members in their RTAs/FTAs negotiations and highlighted its importance as a means to achieve high standard agreements in the region. To enhance transparency, the ministers also approved a new Individual Action Plan (IAP) reporting template to enable economies to share information on their RTAs/FTAs beginning in 2005, the statement said. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang, who briefed reporters about the ministerial meeting, said APEC members should conduct dialogues and share experiences on the RTA issue to set good examples for the establishment of globe-wide trade areas and to give instructive suggestions to guide the free trade arrangements toward a sound development. APEC was set up in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies and to the need to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism and sense of community. It now groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The organization accounts for more than a third of the world's population or about 2.6 billion people, 47 percent of world trade and nearly 60 percent of the world gross domestic product (GDP) orabout 19 trillion US dollars. It also represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, generating nearly 70 percent of global economic growth during the past 10 years. With the signing of the comprehensive statement, Thursday's ministerial meeting was also accompanied by a series of sideline bilateral meetings. Li Zhaoxing and his US counterpart, Colin Powell, agreed Thursday to work further for constructive and cooperative bilateral relations and reaffirmed respectively their stands over the Taiwan issue. Li said both China and the United States should exert joint efforts to strengthen cooperation, and properly handle the Taiwan issue to enhance bilateral ties, while Powell reiterated Washington's one-China policy, its adherence to the Three US-ChinaJoint Communiques, and not supporting "Taiwan independence." Expressing satisfaction with the development of bilateral ties, the ministers also exchanged views on bilateral and regional issues of mutual concern. Li on the same day also held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura with the focus on historical issues and Taiwan. Stressing China's stand over those issues, Li called on the Japanese side to take substantial measures to remove obstacles hampering the development of bilateral relations. Reaffirming Japan's adherence to the one-China policy and opposition to "Taiwan independence," Machimura called on the two sides to keep contacts at various levels in a bid to seek more common interests.