Ministers responsible for trade from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) met in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning to show support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Doha Development Agenda, and seek measures to facilitate free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

In a retreat meeting in southern Ho Chi Minh City, the ministers from the 21-member of APEC are scheduled to exhibit their political determination in support the facilitation of Doha negotiations so that they would conclude by late 2006 as targeted.

They are also to touch upon the establishment and development of regional trading arrangements (RTA) and free trade agreements ( FTA), and seek measures to well implement the Busan Roadmap to the Bogor Goals.

On June 1, in a plenary session, the ministers will discuss three main issues including trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, economic and technical cooperation, and interaction with the business community.

The WTO has set target of making some progresses in the Doha multilateral trade talks in June and July so that the negotiations could wrap up by the end of this year.

At the 2nd seniors' official meeting in the city from May 30 to 31, APEC delegates reached consensus on main points of a Hanoi action plan with specific measures to realize Bogor goals, adopted by APEC leaders at their 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, on free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing ones, Phung said.

The Hanoi action plan, to be submitted to the two-day ministerial meeting from June 1 to 2 and then the APEC summit in November for approval, puts forth concrete measures to implement the Busan Roadmap, a step leading to the Bogor goals. APEC leaders in 2005 developed a blueprint in Busan, South Korea for improving trade and investment facilitation measures, regional travel, and seeking a satisfactory conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda round of negotiations.

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