BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The Asian-Pacific Rim foreign and trade ministers on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for developed members and 2020 for developing members as stipulated in the Bogor Declaration.

    After wrapping up a two-day meeting in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan prior to an Economic Leaders'Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the ministers expressed the need of APEC to adapt its focus accordingly and to continue to deliver concrete and business relevant outcomes in the years ahead to realize the Bogor Goals.

    The Bogor Goals, named after the city in Indonesia where they were declared in 1994, specify APEC objectives for eliminating developed members' trade and investment barriers by 2010, and those of developing members by 2020.

    Ban Ki-moon, South Korea's minister of foreign affairs and trade who chaired this year's APEC Ministerial Meeting, said considerable progress has been made toward APEC's central Bogor Goals.

    "The results of the mid-term stocktaking of progress toward theBogor Goals show that APEC has made great strides in liberalizing trade and investment during the past 16 years," he told a press conference after concluding the ministerial meeting.

    "The ministers agreed that, while the APEC agenda should be revitalized to keep pace with the new international trade environment, APEC must ensure that the achievement of the Bogor Goals," said a joint statement issued following the APEC Ministerial Meeting.

    In order to accelerate progress toward the Bogor Goals, the ministers also emphasized the Busan Roadmap to the Bogor Goals, which outlines key priorities and frameworks, such as support for the multilateral trading system, strengthening collective and individual actions, promotions of high-quality regional trade agreements and free trade agreements (RTAs/FTAs), the Busan Business Agenda, said the joint statement.

    The ministers also reaffirmed their deep commitment to the multilateral trading system and their support for the World Trade Organization (WTO).

    "APEC economies would continue to make contribution toward the successful outcome of the WTO DDA negotiations and that the APEC Geneva Caucus must redouble its collective efforts to advance the negotiations in all areas of the Doha Development Agenda," the ministers said.

    "Once the results of the DDA negotiations were known, APEC members would need to consider what further liberalization steps would be needed to help reach the Bogor Goals," the ministers said in the joint statement.

    The ministers agreed that Individual Action Plans (IAPs) and Collective Action Plans (CAPs) were the major vehicles in achieving the Bogor Goals.

    The APEC ministers agreed that high-quality RTAs/FTAs maximized the contribution of those agreements to APEC-wide progress toward the Bogor Goals.

    Ministers agreed that APEC would develop by 2008 comprehensive model measures as many commonly accepted RTA/FTA chapters as possible for trade facilitation, said the joint statement.

    During their two-day meeting, the APEC ministers finalized the wording of statements for the Economic Leaders'Meeting slated on Nov. 18-19.

    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 account for more than one-third of the world's population (2.6 billion people), about 60 percent of world GDP and nearly half of world trade. It represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, having generated nearly 70 percent of global economic growth in its first 10 years.

    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 South Korea holding the chair this year.   Enditem