Leaders 'must revive trade talks'

Asia accounts for just over half of world trade

Leaders from the Pacific Rim will urge a revival of world trade talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Vietnam this weekend.

A draft document leaked to the AP news agency states that failure to resume such talks could have "grave" economic consequences.

World Trade Organization talks have been stalled since July after countries failed to reach agreement on subsidies.

Leaders from Apec's 21 members will also discuss a regional trade pact.

The global WTO talks were intended at increasing free trade, especially in agricultural products, as a means to benefit developing countries.

But a failure to agree over how to cut the big agricultural subsidies by Western countries was a stumbling block in the so-called Doha round.

Some leaders argue that if Apec nations - which include China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan among others - develop a regional free trade pact, this could be a first step towards a wider agreement.

The US will be among the key non-Asian participants to attend the summit, and President Bush is expected to sign a trade deal with Russia paving the way for its admission to the WTO.

The draft document also stresses the importance of security as a way to boost economic growth.