US President Barack Obama opened the plenary session of the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaiion Nov. 14, calling on regional economies to make efforts for a morerapid, stable and sustainable growth.
At thesession, the leaders of 21 APEC member economies discussed measures toboost the liberalisation of trade and investment in the region throughthe settlement of tariff and other barriers.
Taking place in the context of the fragile recovery of the world economyand a threat that the Europe public debt crisis can roll up the worldin a new recession, this APEC meeting focuses on strengthening economicdevelopment and multilateral cooperation with the Trans-PacificPartnership (TPP) agreement expected to pave the way for a free tradearea among most Pacific countries.
The agenda ofthe meeting includes measures to boost regional economic growth,generate jobs and reform regulations as well as enhance the efficiencyof energy and energy security.
Speaking at theplenary session, President Obama stressed that APEC sees an opportunityto achieve progresses on the path to a final goal for regional economiclinkages.
The Asia-Pacific region plays animportant role in the US ’ economic growth and the US considers it atop priority because the country’s economic growth cannot be achievedwithout the success of Asia-Pacific.
Establishedin 1989, APEC is now the largest regional economic-trade cooperationmechanism with 21 member economies, accounting for 40 percent ofpopulation, 55 percent of GDP and 44 percent of trade of the world./.