Major topics at APEC Singapore 2009

SINGAPORE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The world's business and political leaders currently converge in Singapore for the week-long APEC meetings to explore ways to promote economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment across the Asia-Pacific region.

The main topics for the APEC meetings, themed "Sustaining Growth, Connecting the Region" this year, are as follows.

Regional economic integration and trade protectionism

Key business leaders of the Asia Pacific region have agreed that it is now time for the APEC to take more decisive actions towards establishing a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP)in view of the financial crisis and the stalled Doha Round negotiations.

The business industry expresses caution about signs of the economic recovery and urges political leaders to take steps to ensure that this is sustained. They believe that this can be done if economies resist protectionism, promote global demand rather than just domestic demand and that they take the opportunity to undertake economic reforms. And that setting a firm time frame for bringing an FTAAP into reality would send a very strong signal about APEC' s commitment to accelerating the integration of their economies.

Delegates also see the successful conclusion of the Doha Round no later than 2010 as not only providing a major stimulus to global trade and investments but also to deal effectively with persisting protectionism.

Climate change

APEC economies account for approximately 60 percent of world energy consumption. Climate change impacts both individuals and economies at large, with developing nations experiencing the most adverse effects. In addition, climate change is believed to contribute to the increasing number of natural disasters, about 70percent of which occur in the Asia-Pacific region.

Recognizing the upcoming negotiations in Copenhagen in December for an agreement on climate change, delegates call on the political leaders to empower their negotiators to conclude a meeting with an agreement that provides business with a predictable and stable environment in which they operate.

Other topics to be included in the meetings are disaster preparedness, food security, inclusive growth and structural reform.