Sakaba said the meeting's chair concluded that the possibility of forming the FTAAP will be studied in a long-term basis, and that a feasibility study could be conducted at the APEC 2007 in Australia.

    At the retreat, the ministers focused their discussions on ways of resuming the Doha Round negotiations, facilitating RTAs/FTAs, the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap, combating terrorism, and reforming APEC.

    At the meeting, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy updated the delegates on the latest developments on efforts to advance the negotiations.

    At the plenary session on Thursday, the ministers are expected to continue their discussions on the issues and some others, including APEC's efforts to overcome corruption and enhance transparency, human security, capacity building and technical cooperation.

    Since its inception in 1989, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region and to create efficient domestic economies and dramatically increase exports.