Less than 24 hours before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this weekend, everything seemed ready Friday in this Peruvian capital to receive leaders from members of the regional bloc.
The 16th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will gather a total of 19 leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President George W. Bush, to discuss such issues as the group's regional economic integration, the global financial crisis and the stalled Doha Round of trade talks.
Due to the importance of the event, Peru has continued to step up security measures to ensure the safety of the APEC leaders since last week.
ARRIVAL OF OUTGOING U.S. PRESIDENT
Earlier in the day, U.S. President arrived in Lima to attend the annual APEC summit.
This is Bush's second visit to Peru during his eight-year tenure and his last time to attend the APEC summit as U.S. president.
During his stay in Peru, Bush will have a work meeting with his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia and bilateral meetings with leaders of South Korea, Japan and some other APEC member economies.
In a recent interview with Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, Bush said Peru is a strategic partner, with open markets and a growing economy, which makes it an ideal country for investment.
"Peru has become an ideal country to invest in and this is important in creating jobs. Growing investment in a country is a sign of transparency and a good legal system," he said.
Bush, who is going to step down as president on Jan. 20, 2009, also said that the implementation process of the free trade agreement with Peru could conclude before January 2009.
Earlier, White House officials said Bush would urge APEC members to back a crisis strategy adopted by G-20 nations at an emergency meeting in Washington earlier this month on world economy and the global financial crisis.
Besides the outgoing U.S. president, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Bruneian Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Somare and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet also arrived in Lima on Friday.
TIGHTENED SECURITY
Peru's national police enhanced security at the Defense Ministry Convention Center in Lima on Friday.
Some 1,000 policemen have been deployed within a five-block radius of the Army Headquarters, where the Defense Ministry Convention Center, headquarters of the APEC summit, is located, the Andina news agency reported.
The police contingent is composed of special operations officers, transit police, emergency squad and motorized police.
The deployment is part of a strategic security plan designed by the Peruvian national police, which has also sent snipers to rooftops nearby.
Under the Plan of Operations APEC 2008, presented by Peruvian Interior Minister Remigio Hernani, authorities have deployed some 99,000 security personnel to protect the leaders, ministers and business dignitaries attending the annual forum, local media reported.
MINISTERS' STATEMENT ISSUED
On Thursday, APEC foreign and trade ministers concluded their meeting with a joint statement, in which they made recommendations for this weekend's summit.
In the statement, the ministers called for joint efforts to overcome the ongoing global financial crisis and revive the Doha Round trade negotiations.
"APEC economies are committed to implementing all necessary measures to bolster the real economy and boost investment and consumption levels in the region," said the joint statement released by the ministers after a two-day APEC ministerial meeting, which started on Wednesday to make final preparations for the APEC Leaders' Meeting.
"Ensuring a rapid, coordinated and effective response to the current global financial crisis is the highest priority for APEC economies and will be the focus of attention" when APEC leaders meet on the weekend, said the statement.
Earlier this week, Peruvian Deputy Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez said the leaders would issue a special statement on the ongoing global financial crisis.
Established in 1989, APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
Source:Xinhua
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