HANOI, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) - Leaders of the southeast Asian countries and the U.S. pledged here Saturday that they will give priority to promoting economic and trade cooperation in the future.

    The leaders made the commitment during a meeting on the sidelines of the 14th Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) set to open Saturday in the Vietnamese capital, according to a press release issued by the meeting's host.

    The leaders agreed that Southeast Asian APEC countries and the U.S. should make joint efforts to create stronger economic linkages and encourage greater involvement of the private sector and businesses, so as to better adapt to the trend of increased economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

    The leaders also exchanged views on international and regional political, security and economic issues of common interest, including the Doha Round trade talks and nuclear issue in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

    They agreed that to effectively address those issues would "require active coordination and close cooperation among countries through concrete programs and activities.

    U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated his support for the role of southeast Asian countries in dealing with matters pertaining to peace and development in the region, as well as in regional cooperation fora.

    At the meeting, the leaders congratulated Vietnam on its accession to the WTO, and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet pledged that his country would contribute to the efforts of resuming and bringing the Doha Round to a successful conclusion at an early date.

    The meeting was attended by heads of state and governments from eight countries, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.