Cancun impasse a missed opportunity: APEC ministers

Asserting that the Cancun impasse had been "a missed opportunity", ministers from Asia Pacific nations have called for restarting the stalled trade discussions to benefit both rich and poor countries even as they warned that terrorism and Severe Acute Respiratoty Syndrome threatened economic prosperity.

Trade and foreign ministry ministers from 21 countries wrapped up two-day talks on Saturday, laying the agenda for the APEC summit of world leaders, including US President George W Bush next week.

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Bush arrives in Thailand on Sunday for the APEC summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin is already in in the island resort of Phuket and will fly to Bangkok for the two-day summit, which begins on Monday.

In a draft communique to be adopted by trade ministers later in the day, they called on the World Trade Organisation to restart international trade negotiations that collapsed in Cancun, Mexico last month.

The ministers also decided to step up fight to tackle terror with steps like tighter control over production and sales of hand-held anti-aircraft missiles that can bring down civilian planes.

Meanwhile, excluded from the APEC leaders' summit, WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi is lobbying on the sidelines trying to rally leaders and commerce ministers to push for a successful conclusion of world trade talks by January 2005.