The meeting, also attended by WTO director-general Pascal Lamy, is considering the text of a ministerial statement containing a series of specific proposals aimed at WTO members.

The meeting began yesterday with a day of informal talks, to be followed by a formal plenary session and the release of the ministerial statement today.

Among the other items on the agenda are plans for implementing the Busan Roadmap geared to Apec's free trade and investment goals and methods for achieving a significant reduction in transaction costs in the Apec region.

The ministers are also working on finalising high-quality regional trade arrangements and free-trade agreements and reviewing the latest developments in the Apec Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative.

The chairman of the meeting, Vietnamese Trade Minister Troung Dinh Tuyen, said the work of the Apec members' representatives in Geneva would be taken into consideration in formulating a specific statement with recommendations for progress on WTO negotiations.

"The ministers will deliver a strong and credible message, going beyond a political statement and including specific proposals," Truong said.

He said they would also review progress on the Apec Trade Facilitation Action Plan, which sought to reduce trade transaction costs by 5 per cent in the past five years before considering plans for a further 5-per-cent cut by 2010.

The initial reduction is estimated to have yielded an additional US$280 billion (Bt10.7 trillion) in annual trade, Troung said. The Trade Facilitation Action Plan has benefited business operators and the communities they serve around the Asia-Pacific zone, and any further reduction in transaction costs will result in additional direct benefits for regional commerce.

"The ministers will consider a proposed framework for delivering the further 5-per-cent reduction," Troung said.