The leaders of the 21 APEC member economies met on Sunday for a closed-door meeting, chaired by Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, to debate the main issues of the Lima Declaration, which will close the 2016 APEC Economic Leaders' Week.[Special coverage]
This meeting, held under the theme of "Quality Growth and Human Development," was preceded by meetings among business leaders and foreign relations and commerce ministers, which provided recommendations for the Declaration.
The most highly awaited issue on their agenda is the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP), with this meeting seeking to lay out the bases for concrete negotiations of the FTAAP and to reject economic protectionism, which is seen as a threat to global growth.
Prior to this meeting, the APEC leaders expressed their complete support for the FTAAP as an effective tool to promote economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Lima Declaration will be released on Sunday afternoon after Kuczynski announces the issues agreed by the leaders.
