The annual meeting of the 19th Asian Trade Promotion Forum opened in Macao on Thursday, drawing the presence of 16 of the organization's 21 members.

Osamu Watanabe, chief of the forum's secretariat, told the opening ceremony that the theme of this yearly meeting will be Asia's new role in the world free trade tendency.

He said the delegates will hold discussions on further enhancing the regional economic cooperations.

Watanabe hailed the host Macao for its "strong economy" and " bright outlook" to offer a perfect backdrop and venue for the forum's 19th annual meeting.

Lee Peng Hong, president of Macao Trade Investment Promotion Institute, express the welcome on behalf of the host to all the delegates and wished that they would achieve "fruitful results" in the discussions.

The meeting, covering three sessions, will be concluded Friday.

The Asian Trade Promotion Forum was founded in 1987, with all the delegates respectively from their government-run trade promotion institutes.

Source: Xinhua