Top leaders from 21 member economies of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum ended their meeting Sunday with a declaration on sustainable growth, trade liberalization, human security and good governance.

Under the declaration titled "One Community, Our Future," also the main theme of this year's APEC meetings, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing development through trade and investment liberalization, enhancing human security to underpinning growth, promoting good governance and a knowledge-based society.

"The meeting is a big success not only for Chile, but also for all APEC members," Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, whose country is the first South American nation to host APEC events, told a press conference.

Reviewing a wide variety of consensuses reached at the meeting, Lagos highlighted the APEC leaders' strong support for the WTO Doha Round negotiations and their determination to advance the prosperity and sustainable growth of the region.

In the declaration, the leaders pledged to work with a renewed sense of urgency to achieve a balanced overall outcome that will meet the high levels of ambition set for those negotiations.

The APEC leaders agreed to launch an initiative for expanded trade in APEC to complement the achievement of free and open trade in the region.

An overarching dimension of the initiative is the capacity building so that the economies can implement and benefit from their work on trade liberalization and facilitation.

At the two-day annual meeting, which has brought unprecedented tight security in the Chilean capital, the leaders approved a series of counterterrorism measures aimed at advancing the prosperity and sustainable growth of the economies and the complementary mission of ensuring the security of the people.

They also pledged renewed efforts to fight corruption and promote structural reform.

The meeting is the last event of the week-long APEC meetings, which also included the Senior Officials Meeting and the Ministerial Meeting, and the culmination of the whole APEC Chile 2004.

Numerous bilateral meetings between the world's key leaders were also planned on the sidelines of the meeting.

The leaders kicked off Sunday's session by posing for an official photograph session in Chile's traditional garments of "Chamantos," a kind of decorative and reversible poncho woven in silk thread and wool.

Chilean President Lagos, chairman of this year's APEC leaders' meeting, welcomed the leaders from 21 APEC members at the presidential palace La Moneda, where they showed up for a photograph session.

As a tradition at the annual summit, leaders are required to pose for a photo-opportunity in garments reflective of the host's unique culture. At the previous meetings, leaders donned Indonesia's traditional batik, Philippine barong Tagalog and traditional Chinese embroidered silk jacket.

APEC, as the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, was set up in 1989 to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community.

It now groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States and Vietnam.

Key points of declaration of 2004 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

ADVANCING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TRADE AND INVESTMENT LIBERALIZATION

-- reaffirm the primacy of the rules-based multilateral trading system and welcome the new momentum acquired by the Doha Development Agenda negotiations resulting from the July Decision of the World Trade Organization General Council;

-- agree to play a constructive rile in accelerting liberalization in the region.

-- commit to greater transparency in regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements;

-- recognize that improved protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) contribute to the promotion of investment, innovation and economic growth and welcome APEC work on the APEC Comprehensive Strategy on Intellectual Property Rights.

SANTIAGO INITIATIVE FOR EXPANDED TRADE IN APEC

-- agree to launch the Santiago Initiative for Expanded Trade in APEC to complement the achievement of free and open trade in the region. An overarching dimension of the initiative is capacity building so that all economies can implement and benefit from their work on trade liberalization and facilitation;

-- welcome the inputs from APEC business community, including Business Advisory Council (ABAC) resolve for expanding trade, and share its view on the critical importance of trade facilitation.

ENHANCING HUMAN SECURITY-UNDERPINNING ECONOMIC GROWTH

-- reaffirm determination to advance the prosperity and sustainable growth of APEC economies and the complementary mission of ensuring the security of APEC people;

-- encourage relevant APEC economies to take measurable steps towards the ratification and implementation of, or the commitment to ratify, all basic universal antiterrorist conventions;

-- encourage new efforts during 2005 to address the specific threats posed by infectious diseases such as SARs,avian flu, pandemic influenza, and HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific region;

-- instruct energy ministers to continue to implement and enhance the APEC Energy security Initiative to promote energy security, sustainable development and common prosperity within the APEC region.

PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE AND A KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

-- endorse the APEC Course of Action on fighting Corruption and Ensuring Transparencyand "Santiago Commitment to Fight Corruption and Ensure Transparency";

-- reaffirm political commitment to promote structural reform, recognizing its value for achieving sustainable economic growth;

-- underscore the need to deepen capacity building initiatives in the region through private/public partnerships and instruct officials to increase APEC interaction with International Financial Institutions.

-- welcome APEC efforts in the field of education, in particular work undertaken to promote the use of English and other language as tools for small and medium enterprises, and the use of information technology tools for small and medium enterprises.