Special Report: Hu Jintao visits 4 Asian nations, attends APEC Meeting

    HANOI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) closed their annual meeting here Sunday, calling for joint efforts for resumption of the Doha round negotiations and committed to further facilitate free trade and investment in the region.

    At the two-day meeting, the leaders reached consensus on a range of issues including advancing free trade and investment, enhancing human security, and building stronger societies and a more dynamic and harmonious community.

    "With a strong commitment to achieving the vision of stability, security and prosperity for the Asia-Pacific region, we agreed to make every effort for realizing APEC's goals of free and open trade and investment," said a declaration issued at the end of the meeting.

    The leaders adopted a statement, calling for early resumption of the Doha round negotiations, endorsed the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap towards the Bogor Goals of the free trade and investment in the region.

    They reaffirm their collective and individual commitments to concluding an ambitious and balanced WTO Doha agreement and said there was "an urgent need to break the current deadlock and to put the negotiations back on a path towards a timely conclusion."

    The Doha Development Agenda (DDA), established in 2001, sets out goals for liberalizing trade in agriculture, manufactured goods and services, while allowing developing countries time to strengthen fragile industries.

    The Hanoi Action Plan, adopted at the meeting, will help translate the Busan roadmap into reality by elaborating concrete actions for APEC member economies to take in five areas including the promotion of high-quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements.

    On the human security in the region, the leaders pledged to continue efforts to combat terrorism in every form and manifestation, enhance cooperation in preventing and responding Avian and Influenza pandemics, and expand efforts toward combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region.

    The leaders also agreed to further intensify cooperation in emergency preparedness and disaster response, and take measures to safeguard energy security for the region's sustainable economic development.

    At the closing press conference, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said that the leaders' discussions also touched on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and produced a statement on it.

    Before the leaders' meeting, APEC also held a two-day Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 15-16 and a Senior Official Meeting on Nov. 12-13, striking out the final documents for the leaders to approve after consensus on some issues.

    The leaders' meeting was also accompanied by an APEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Summit and a Business Advisory Council meeting, at which leaders and executives stressed the need to cooperate and share experience in economic development.