Seoul Declaration

We, the Ministers responsible for science and technology from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and the United States of America, meeting in Seoul on November 13-14, 1996 for the Second APEC Ministers' Conference on Regional Science and Technology Cooperation;

In pursuance of the APEC vision to create a community of Asia-Pacific built on the economic dynamism of the region based on free trade and investment, and active and intensive regional cooperation in science and technology that will "enhance the prospects for an accelerated, balanced, and equitable economic growth not only in the Asia-Pacific Region but also throughout the world;"

Reaffirming and acknowledging the progress made in the major themes of "improving information flow, human resources development and joint research" discussed at the First APEC Ministers' Conference on Regional Science and Technology Cooperation in Beijing, 1995; and

Recognizing the need to find cooperative solutions to the challenges of rapidly changing regional and global economies through strengthened economic and technical cooperation, consistent with the Action Agenda endorsed by the APEC Economic Leaders at Osaka in order to rapidly and effectively achieve the vision shared by the member economies;

Do hereby declare as follows:

In order to realize the vision of APEC to create a community of Asia-Pacific as a center of gravity of world economic growth, the economic dynamism of the region has to be maintained and further strengthened into the future. This can best be accomplished by enhancing the scientific and technological capability of the region. We also reconfirm that science and technology should be used for the improvement of the quality of life for all as well as for the enhancement of the environmental quality of the region. We therefore strongly believe that in pursuing the vision of APEC, science and technology should take the role of being: (1) a source of economic dynamism, (2) a vehicle to a prosperous Asia-Pacific, and (3) a means to achieve sustainable and equitable development of the region.

In the 'knowledge-based' economy the human resource is a key element of economic growth. It is scientific and technical personnel who create and disseminate knowledge and constitute organizational teams for research and development. Scientific and technical men and women are therefore critically important to developing a prosperous Asia-Pacific that is supported by strong knowledge-based industries. Creative scientific and technical men and women are indispensable not only to fuel innovation but underpin sustainable industrial productivity and improve quality of life for all.

Policies for science, technology, and innovation should be directed to improve access to the existing stock of knowledge, create new knowledge and new industries, and promote the participation of youth in science and technology. Such policies will enhance the creativity and mobility of scientific and technical men and women of the region. We also note that enhancing creativity and mobility of scientific and technical men and women of the region can be achieved when governments, universities, institutes, and businesses join forces to promote active exchange of and interaction among scientific and technical men and women across economic and cultural boundaries, including those who will be the leaders of the future.

We thus agree that the enhancement of creativity and mobility of scientific and technical men and women should be a top priority of the APEC science and technology cooperation agenda. To enhance the creativity and mobility of scientific and technical men and women across the regional economies, we will cooperate to achieve the following goals: