Asia pacific economic summit kicks off in Indonesia

Nusa Dua, Indonesia, Asia-Pacific leaders convened on Monday for a summit in Indonesia aimed at advancing trade and investment liberalization amid a regional economic slowdown. Indonesian Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on the resort island of Bali with calls for closer cooperation in the region. "The role of APEC is even more important today as we have yet to fully recover from the global economic crisis," Yudhoyono said, according to DPA. "We all feel the pain of the crisis," he said. "It is therefore important to develop closer cooperation towards accelerating economic growth and global recovery.