(VOVworld)- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum began on Tuesday with high-level meetings in Bali, Indonesia.

Photo: www.uya.or.id

Over the next two days, the 21 members of the APEC forum will discuss issues to be tackled by their ministers when they meet Friday and Saturday ahead of the annual APEC summit, which will take place Monday and Tuesday next week. APEC leaders will issue a separate statement reaffirming their commitment to strengthening the multilateral trading system and safeguarding trade expansion to facilitate economic growth, job creation, and sustainable development. The leaders will also extend by one year to 2016 a "standstill" commitment not to introduce new barriers to trade in goods and services. On this occasion, the Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister wrote a piece titled “APEC- 25 years of cooperation”.