President Barack Obama spoke at an open forum event in Hawaii at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting on Saturday and Sunday in Honolulu. Obama spoke to leaders of the Pacific Rim nations at an economic summit. Behind closed doors, Fox News reports Obama met with Chinese and Russian officials to push for tougher sanctions against Iran based on a report regarding the country's nuclear ambitions.
The summit was part of a series of meetings of APEC. Here is what the economic organization is about now that the week-long series of meetings is completed.
* APEC is a conglomeration of 21 national economies responsible for half of the world's economic output. Nations include the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.
* Obama announced at the summit that Russia has been invited to join the World Trade Organization, a group of 153 nations founded in 1995. The WTO administers trade agreements and serves as a forum for international trade.
* The primary goal of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is to support sustainable economic growth among nations in the region. Although nothing is legally binding in the group's decisions, APEC aims to be an open forum for ideas to foster open trade between member nations.
* APEC was formed in 1989 at the behest of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Twelve nations originally signed on, including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
* Members agreed to Declaration on Climate Change in 2007. Countries also agreed to reduce trade transaction costs by five percent by 2010.
* APEC's first annual meeting was held in November 1993 in the United States. Member nations have met every year since then in different countries in Asia-Pacific nations.
* Meetings in 2011 have centered on several issues. Reef fishing, tourism, cross-border policies, typhoons, green innovation and financial stability have all been discussed by groups within APEC at one time this year.
* The annual conference held in Hawaii is officially called "Leaders Week." Foreign ministers, financial leaders and heads of state all meet to discuss prevalent issues surround Pacific Rim nations.
* The most recent member to be included in APEC is Chile. That country joined in November 1994.
* The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat is Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob of Malaysia. He will hold his post until Dec. 31, 2012.
* The original goal of APEC was to have free and open trade between developed countries by 2010 and the same goal for developing countries by 2020. Three key areas discussed in 1994 include liberalization of trade, business facilitation and economic cooperation.
* The overall goal is to have free trade without tariffs throughout the Pacific Rim. That will foster a greater global economy and usher in an era of unprecedented cooperation among Pacific economies.
William Browning is a research librarian.
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