50th Governing Body Meeting in Iran
21–23 April 2008, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
CLOSING STATEMENT
APO Secretary-General Shigeo Takenaka
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Directors, Advisers, and Observers
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am pleased that our meeting concluded successfully and the Directors were able to arrive at a firm, unanimous decision on the amount of the total APO membership contributions for 2009 and 2010. The consensus decision marked another step in the implementation of the new membership contribution procedure, which has taken considerable effort and a fairly long gestation period since we started the change more than two years ago.
I am particularly happy that the Directors agreed with the Secretariat’s wish for an increase. Discussions related to the budget are never easy. Prior to the GBM, the Secretariat was concerned that we would have to go through a set of entirely new procedures and realized that even a modest percentage increase would mean a significant increment in the individual contributions of some member countries. That concern, however, proved unfounded and instead we had very smooth discussions, with all member countries giving their wholehearted support for a 3.2% increase above the current level.
The increase therefore epitomized the unfailing commitment of member countries to the work of the APO. It also was a vote of confidence for the organization. I therefore regard the increase, and the manner in which we achieved it, as an important victory for each and every one of us in this hall.
The Secretariat is aware of the expectations that accompany the increase in the budget. In this context, I very much appreciate the advice from this meeting to maintain the momentum of Secretariat reform and wish to reaffirm my commitment to sustaining that momentum.
The policy directives presented by the Directors gave us plenty of food for thought for new areas of engagement, modalities to strengthen the NPOs and partnerships with global organizations, and ideas for activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the APO. We will need some time to design specific program plans that incorporate these ideas. Nonetheless, I was struck by the commonalities of some of the ideas presented. To mention a few, there were several suggestions for the development of national customer satisfaction indices (NSCI), establishment of centers of excellence in specific areas of specialization among NPOs, improvement of public service delivery, and enhancing the think-tank role of the APO. I look forward to working closely with member countries to realize the inspiring ideas contained in the Directors’ statements.
On our part, we have started the initial step to strengthen the think tank role of the APO. In this connection, I am very happy to remind you that last month we launched a new version of the APO Productivity Databook series. The new volume is a much improved version, containing several new features. One of the most important additions is that it includes labor productivity data on all APO member countries spanning the period from 1975 to 2005. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only publication that provides labor productivity data on the entire APO membership. I hope that you will find this publication useful to your organizations and governments.
To conclude, I would like to thank all APO Directors for their continuing support and commitment. The successful conclusion of this meeting convinced me that we are on the right track. I count on the wisdom and leadership of the Directors as we prepare ourselves for our golden jubilee.
I would also like especially to thank the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for hosting this GBM in this ancient yet bustling city of Tehran. We are deeply appreciative of the warm hospitality extended to us by APO Director for Iran Mohsen Haji Mirzaie and his able, helpful, and always smiling staff members from the NIPC. The welcome dinner reception at the Saad Abad restaurant with a spectacular tambourine performance made our stay truly memorable.
My thanks also go to APO Director for Indonesia Besar Setyoko for his leadership as the APO Chair over the past year, especially for the time and effort he devoted to making his term as chair successful. I also congratulate First Vice-Chair Masato Watanabe and Second Vice Chair Sung-ki Bae on assuming these important positions.
Finally, I would like to thank the Secretariat staff members who have worked hard and often long hours to make sure that all the necessary preparations were done well and in time for this meeting.
I wish all Directors, Advisers, and Observers a safe and pleasant journey home.
Thank you.
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