AUSTRALIA: Leaders gather for the final day of the APEC summit

Leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations are expected to call on Sunday (September 9) for a final conclusion to world trade talks that have dragged on for six years, ending a two-day summit dominated by climate change and trade. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said the leaders, who represent major trading nations such as the United States, Japan, China and Russia, will issue a statement on Sunday (September 9) on trade talks now under way in Geneva. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is expected to pledge to ensure that the moribund Doha round of global trade talks enter their final phase this year. Asia-Pacific foreign and trade ministers meeting in Sydney have already agreed to accelerate global free trade talks. U.S. President George W. Bush has called at APEC for more flexibility in world trade talks, saying the Doha round of talks in Geneva was a "once-in-a-generation opportunity". APEC's 21-member economies account for half of global trade and nearly 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product. The APEC leaders agreed on Saturday to a "long-term aspirational goal" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but no binding targets. They also said all nations, developing and developed, should contribute according to their own capacities and circumstances to reducing greenhouse gases. Green groups said the "Sydney Declaration" was a failure without binding targets to cut greenhouse emissions. The leaders have been meeting behind a tight security cordon at the Sydney Opera House, after police said they feared violent street protests against the Iraq war and global warming. But Saturday's anti-APEC protest march was peaceful, with only a few arrests. The final day of the conference will proceed without President Bush, who flew out of Australia late on Saturday. Bush returned home early to prepare for a major report on the progress of the Iraq war.

ITN Source | September 9, 2007

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