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| First Asia Pacific Ministerial Meeting In October 2001, Ministers and delegations from 33 countries in the Asia Pacific region met in Melbourne Australia for a Ministerial Meeting on HIV/AIDS and Development in Asia and the Pacific at the invitation of the Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. Their goal was to consider the significant challenges the HIV/AIDS epidemic poses to their countries and to identify ways to strengthen partnerships to combat the continued spread of HIV/AIDS. The meeting recognised that strong leadership and political commitment at the highest levels is vital to achieving this goal. As a result of this meeting the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS and Development (APLF) was established to increase leadership against the HIV/AIDS epidemic through building upon existing efforts of countries in the region. The first Ministerial Meeting was attended by: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Viet Nam. |
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