Who we are

The APEC Business Mobility Group (BMG), is one of the sub-fora working groups of the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI).  It is made up of government representatives from the 21 member economies of APEC. These representatives are from government departments responsible for immigration and consular affairs. The group usually meets three times a year at the APEC Senior Officials' Meetings.  APEC 2007 is being hosted by Australia. 

What we do

The role of the Business Mobility Group is to enhance the mobility of business people to facilitate trade and investment activity in the APEC region.  It achieves its aim by  building the capacity of members to implement transparent, streamlined short stay and temporary residence arrangements, and immigration and related border systems to ensure the safe and secure movement of people.  

The BMG's 2007 work program is designed to:

Enhance trade facilitation through examining the scope to further improve temporary entry arrangements, including the APEC Business Travel Card operation

Enhance human and trade security by implementing the Leaders’ Secure Trade in the APEC Region initiatives to ‘protect people in transit’,  including:  

· the Advance Passenger Information Pathfinder (API) Initiative;

· agreed Travel Document Security standards, including Machine Readable Travel Documents with Biometrics by 2008;

· agreed Professional Service standards;

· Immigration Liaison Officer arrangements;

· the Regional Movement Alert System (RMAS);

· the development of the underpinning Multi-Lateral Framework for accessing travel document data; and

· contributing lost and stolen passport data to Interpol, on a best endeavours basis.   

· Implement agreed anti-corruption and transparency standards through agreed capacity building initiatives including the improvement and maintenance of comprehensive economy information on rules and procedures governing temporary entry, processing standards and contact points, in the on-line APEC Business Travel Handbook on the BMG website.

· Interact with the private sector to enhance dialogue and cooperation with business, and through active consultation with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). 

History

The APEC Leader's 1994 Bogor Declaration  set the goal for free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by the year 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies. The Osaka Action Agenda (OAA) of November 1995 is the blueprint for the achievement of the Bogor goals. One of the areas identified for action is to enhance the mobility of business people engaged in the conduct of trade and investment in the region. The OAA commits APEC economies to enhance business mobility by exchanging information on regulatory regimes, streamlining the processing of short-term business visitor visas and procedures for temporary residence of business people, and maintaining a dialogue on these issues with the business community.

In response to the OAA guidelines the BMG was formed in 1997 and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) made the facilitation of business travel a priority. The ABAC provides recommendations to the APEC Committee for Trade and Investment's (CTI) agenda on Business Mobility, and the BMG keeps ABAC apprised of its progress. Business is closely consulted in the development of the APEC Business Travel Card scheme and other BMG initiatives.