THE VANCOUVER FRAMEWORK
FOR ENHANCED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
IN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Strengthened partnerships between the public and private sectors are needed to put in place and manage the infrastructure required by the APEC region to meet its economic, environmental and social goals. To this end, we declare the following:

Voluntary Principles

We reaffirm the Voluntary Principles for Facilitating Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure developed by Finance Ministers, namely:

(i) To establish and maintain a sound macroeconomic environment.

(ii) To establish stable and transparent legal frameworks and regulatory systems to provide a high level of investor protection.

(iii) To adopt sectoral policies that promote, where applicable, competitive and efficient provision of infrastructure services.

(iv) To increase the availability of long-term capital required for infrastructure investments by accelerating efforts to broaden and deepen domestic financial and capital markets.

Financing and Investment

(v) We reaffirm Finance Ministers' call on multilateral financial institutions to catalyze and support member economies' own efforts in infrastructure development, including by promoting sound framework policies through technical assistance, facilitating flows of private capital while continuing to provide direct financial support for infrastructure development, and developing innovative financing mechanisms to address the long-term financing requirements of infrastructure projects.

(vi) We encourage Finance Ministers to continue to implement the specific initiatives launched in Cebu to facilitate, in collaboration with multilateral financial institutions and the private sector, the development of domestic financial and capital markets. In this regard, we ask them to continue to work with private sector financiers and providers of risk coverage and investment ratings to promote the development of robust and liquid domestic bond markets, including markets for asset-backed securities which, as noted by ABAC, will enhance private investment in large-scale infrastructure projects.

(vii) We welcome the mutual cooperation Protocol signed by participating Export Credit Agencies and Export Financing Institutions to enhance, on a project-by- project basis, the attractiveness of infrastructure investment for private sector participants.

Improving Capacities

Improving capacities is key to accelerating the development of economically viable infrastructure projects that the private sector can support. To this end, we affirm the need for action in the following areas:

(viii) To promote the application of state of the art practices in each phase of the infrastructure planning, development, management, use and retirement cycle.

(ix) To develop domestic capacities so that public officials involved in infrastructure development in agencies dealing with private investors have appropriate expertise and an understanding of commercial approaches to infrastructure investment, and by promoting technological cooperation, including through private-private and public-private partnerships.

(x) To promote the application of state of the art practices in risk mitigation and management, including by promoting the most effective use of private and public sector capacities.

(xi) To promote transparent, predictable and accountable procedures, including for bidding and selection processes, and to encourage the use of international competitive tendering.

(xii) To ensure that infrastructure supports the achievement of economic, environmental and social goals by incorporating sustainable and equitable development principles in the design and operation of infrastructure facilities.

Information and Consultation

We recognize the importance of information in supporting the participation of the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, in infrastructure projects and commit to engaging the broad public in building on the outcomes achieved in key sectors such as information infrastructure, intelligent and integrated transportation systems, economically and environmentally sustainable energy infrastructure, sustainable cities, and infrastructure to support rural integration and diversification.

To these ends, we call on Ministers:

(xiii) To improve the availability of information to support participation in infrastructure investment by the widest possible range of companies, including by small and medium-sized enterprises, both on a solicited and unsolicited basis.

(xiv) To foster effective consultations to ensure that planned infrastructure meets our communities' needs.

We direct the relevant Ministers to take the necessary measures to make good these declarations of intent with the express purpose of substantially and measurably increasing the participation of the private sector in infrastructure development in the APEC region and promoting infrastructure development in support of overall economic growth and development goals.