Foreign and trade ministers or representatives from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) member economies started their meeting here Wednesday to work out strategies and plans for the group's future free trade, human security and system reform.

The 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting was opened Wednesday morning at Hanoi's National Convention Center to make preparations for the 14th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting on Nov. 18-19.

On top of the agenda of the two-day ministerial meeting will be the final draft of a statement particularly on push of an earlier resumption of the Daha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Hanoi Action Plan for implementation of the Busan Roadmap towards the Bogor Goals for the region's free trade and investment.

Economic and technical cooperation, human security and APEC system reform will also be discussed at the meeting.

Since its inception in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies, APEC has become a formidable regional forum acting as the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic and technical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC accounts for more than one-third of the world's population, about 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product and about 47 percent of world trade. It represents the most economically dynamic region in the world.

APEC currently has 21 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The chairmanship rotates among its members, with Vietnam holding the chair this year.

Source: Xinhua