Murayama tells Mahathir next APEC meet in Tokyo

Murayama tells Mahathir next APEC meet in Tokyo

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on Saturday told his Malaysian host of Tokyo's plans to host a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum next year.

"Japan is chairing the APEC's annual meeting next year and would like to have a summit of APEC nations, with the consensus of all," Japanese spokesman Kishichiro Amae said after Murayama's talks with Premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir, who had snubbed the U.S.-hosted first APEC informal summit in Seattle in November last year, recently said he was attending the APEC summit in Jakarta in November.

Mahathir had made it clear that any plans to organize a summit should be done on consensus, and not called unilaterally by anyone.

The 17-member APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

After starting life as a loose formation in 1989, APEC gradually became more formalized and in January set up a permanent secretariat in Singapore.

APEC members account for 40 percent of world trade and half of world gross national product, with a combined gross national product of US$11 trillion.