Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 11, 1 November 2011 — APEC presents opportunities for Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

APEC presents opportunities for Hawaiʻi

By Mary Aliee Milham O'ahu will be the gathering plaee for Pacific Rim powerbrokers Nov. 7to 13, astheAsiaPaeihe Eeonomie Cooperation

L e a de r s ' Week attracts 2 0,0 0 0 attendees, including h e a d s of state, CEOs and journalists. APE C ' s

primary goal is to support sustainable eeonomie growth and prosperity in the AsiaPaeihe region, by reducing tariffs and other trade barriers, creating efficient domestic economies and increasing exports. Lauren Kahea Moriarty, the first U.S. Ambassador of Hawaiian ancestry and a former U.S. Ambassador to APEC, says the organization differs fundamentally from other multinational organizations such as the World Trade Organization and United Nations. "It doesn't vote; it operates by consensus," says Moriarty, who now serves as Dean of Academics for the U.S. Department of Defense Asia-

Paeihe Center for Security Studies, in Honolulu. "The advantage of this is that they focus on things on whieh they ean agree, on whieh there is a ehanee to make progress . . . then they figure out how to implement that at home." Being neither a treaty-based nor a rule-based organization, eomplianee within APEC is voluntary; something Moriarty says makes members more willing to try things they might not if they were subject to sanctions. Moriarty downplayed the Occupy Wall Street movement and anti-APEC protests that have marked the run up to Leaders' Week. "There's not really a tradition of a lot of protest . . . and I think that's because of the nature of the organization," she said. She says APEC's official groups meet regularly throughout the year, including virtually, to discuss an array of issues, including trade, telecommunications, fisheries, hnanee, farming and oceans, to name a handful. The free flow of ideas is a cornerstone of APEC, especially the Leaders' Meeting, whieh, Moriarty says, is held in "retreat mode" with no notes taken and, other

than a "statement" issued at its conclusion, no official record of discussions kept. "The actual conversation is really a conversation, a ehanee for leaders to sit down and talk to eaeh other." Likewise in other levels of APEC, members discuss things that, in a formal meeting, are often difficult, offering an opportunity to build understanding and relationships among attendees. O'ahu was chosen as the site for this year's meeting by President Ohama, who, as leader of the host country, had the privilege of selecting its location. "The President has invited all these foreign people to eome to Hawai'i, to his home, so our first responsibility here in Hawai'i and as Hawaiians, the host culture, is to make these people feel weleome, to show them aloha and make sure the meeting goes in a way that enables them to accomplish their purposes," says Moriarty, noting the Islands' history for welcoming people from around the world, its native openness and willingness to treat different views respectfully. On the flip side, APEC holds important opportunities for Hawai'i. That's because

APEC's member economies, leaders, ministers of trade, hnanee and foreign affairs and others work on trade agreements, hnanee and other issues impacting the AsiaPaeihe region, she said. "These people have an opportunity to make a major impact in connecting Hawai'i to the rest of the world." Likewise, attendees will have opportunities for eonneehon, exposure to what's happening in the Asia-Pacific business world and to demonstrate Hawai'i is more than "surf and sun" but also a good plaee to do business. "These meetings mark the start, not the end, of the opportunities that APEC opens for Native Hawaiians," says Moriarty. "The bigger advantage comes from making all of us more aware of the opportunities to learn about what's happening beyond Hawai'i, to make relationships beyond Hawai'i and to heeome again active players on the world stage." ■ Mary Aliee Kaiulani Miīham, a Portland, Oregonbased freelance journalist, is a former newspaper reporter and columnist from California's Central Coast.

ABCsof APEŪ APEC's 21 Pacific Rim membereconomies collectively account for= » 54 percent of worldwide gross domestic product, or GDP, whieh is the sum of all goods and services produced. » 44 percent of world trade » 61 percent of U.S. exports History of APEC » Established in 1989 when 12 Pacific Rim economies met in Canberra at the invitation of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke » First "Leaders' Meeting" held in 1993 on Blake lsland near Seattle on invitation of President Bill Clinton » Honolulu Leaders' Meeting is first in U.S. since 1993 » Membereconomies are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile, People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; lndonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; and Vietnam » 2011 APEC CE0 Summit is expected to include: President Barack 0bama, President Hu Jintao of China, President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of lndonesia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico, President Sebastian Pinera of Chile, Chief Executive Donald Tsang of Hong Kong SAR, President Benigno Aquino of The Philippines, and President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam Sources: apec2011ceosummit.com, the White House

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Moriarty