BEIJING, June 2 -- Trade ministers from 21 Asia Pacific economies opened a two-day meeting yesterday in Vietnam focused on pushing for progress on stalled global trade talks.

    Ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gathered in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss how to move forward on the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks, which have been held up over disagreements over cutting tariffs and subsidies.

    Vietnam's Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said APEC members plan to offer specific recommendations to reignite the stumbling talks that began in 2001 in Qatar's capital Doha.

    "APEC trade ministers will deliver a strong and credible message to advance WTO negotiations that goes beyond a political statement and includes specific proposals," he said.

    "APEC has a crucial role to play in salvaging WTO negotiations."

    WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy is attending the meeting, which is also expected to address free trade and investment goals for the region.

    Ahead of the talks, US Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab said the meeting is being held at a critical stage for WTO negotiations.

    "This week's meeting comes at a crucial period for the WTO negotiations and I look forward to working with my Asia-Pacific colleagues to bring new energy and focus to the negotiations," she said.

    The 149 WTO members missed a key April 30 deadline to agree on precise formulas for cutting subsidies and tariffs, and are now aiming to conclude that deal as soon as possible before July.

    That deadline was supposed to set up a conclusion to the Doha talks by the end of the year.

    The talks aim to boost the global economy and lift millions out of poverty worldwide by lowering trade barriers across all sectors, with an emphasis on poorer nations.

    However little progress has been made because of disagreements between the United States and the European Union, and demands by developing countries that rich nations do more to open up their farm markets.

    US Deputy Trade Representative Karan Bhatia said on Wednesday he is hopeful that APEC members - who account for nearly two-thirds of the global economy and nearly half of world trade - can play a key role in bringing the talks back on track.

    "If there's any region of the world that has benefited from free and globalized trade, it's the Asia Pacific region...We expect this region to be strongly supportive of an ambitious Doha agenda," he said.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)