Greater APEC role urged in crises

MOSCOW, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Friday to play a bigger role against acute financial and security problems.

In an article published in Latin America media on the eve of the summit meeting of the 21 Pacific Rim countries in Lima, Peru, Medvedev said APEC must assume increased responsibility "in the search for means of securing stability and prosperity for our shared region."

"It is the APEC countries, in particular, that will have to largely assume the task of unraveling the world economic crisis," he said. "Today, the role of the emerging economies is growing as never before."

As for Russia, among the leaders in worldwide oil and gas production, he pledged to promote "the creation of such a system of energy supply in the Asia-Pacific region that would let consumers diversify the geography of imports, as well as ensure reliable and uninterrupted supplies," RIA Novosti reported.

APEC member countries account for 60 percent of the world's economy and about half of all global trade, the report said. Members include the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia.