By Park Song-wu, Jan Jettel
Staff Reporters


The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will begin Saturday in the South Korean port city of Pusan (Busan) with the highlights of it coming on Nov. 18-19 when 21 world leaders have their annual summit.

Tens of thousands of police and security guards are enhancing their readiness to deter any attempt to mar the global event.

There have been no specific terror threats directed at the forum, but tension has been high as leaders from countries that have supported the U.S.-led war in Iraq are gathering in Pusan, an official in Seoul said on condition of anonymity.

The eight-day APEC forum begins with the Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting, which will be held at BEXCO, the main venue, with a two-day schedule.

During the Nov. 18-19 summit, President Roh Moo-hyun and his 20 other heads of state, including U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao, will discuss free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

But the main agenda item will likely be dwarfed by other pending global issues, such as avian influenza, terrorism and rising oil prices _ all of which could affect international trade and economic growth.

``The agenda will be focused on working to promote trade in cooperation with the upcoming WTO ministerial in Hong Kong in December, cooperating to respond to the risk of avian influenza, and continuing APEC’s work to protect the region from security threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,’’ Steve Hadley, U.S. National Security Advisor, said in a press briefing in Washington on Thursday.

Hadley added that world leaders will discuss a common to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs, but underlined that there will not be any new initiatives, regarding the nuclear standoff.

``While it will be a topic of discussion, you shouldn’t expect any major new initiatives out of that,’’ he said.

The goal of the APEC forum, launched in 1989, is to move forward the Bogor Goals, which were formulated at its 1994 conference in Bogor, Indonesia, to achieve free trade for the industrialized economies by 2010 and for the developing economies by 2020.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said in a recent interview with The Korea Times that the APEC summit will adopt the ``Busan Roadmap,’’ which will be a milestone guiding APEC toward achieving the Bogor goals.

APEC leaders will also issue a special statement, demanding global economies make efforts to approve a detailed framework for a new trade pact at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting next month in Hong Kong, Ban said during a weekly press briefing in Seoul on Wednesday.

President Roh Moo-hyun will have a series of bilateral summits next week, beginning with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Nov. 16 in Seoul. Roh will hold a meeting with Bush in Kyongju on Nov. 17; with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizume in Pusan on Nov. 18; and with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 19 in Pusan.

APEC does not only comprise discussions on economic and political issues at the government level, from Nov. 17-19, 500 business leaders from all of the APEC economies will take part in the CEO Summit.

The motto of this year’s meeting is ``Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Building a Successful Partnership in the Asia-Pacific Region.’’

Many business leaders see the CEO Summit as a good opportunity to discuss issues with politicians and to share information about current affairs. It is also the best annual opportunity for managers in the Asia-Pacific region to expand their networks.

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will hold meetings from Nov. 14-16. Its main focus will be working out suggestions on how to revive the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

ABAC will also examine the history of economic integration in Europe and analyze whether APEC can take the same route as the EU.

im@koreatimes.co.kr