BANGKOK, Oct 14 Kyodo (EDS: UPDAT...

BANGKOK, Oct 14 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Senior officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum economies violenceed the importance Tuesday for the grouping to play a more active part in advancing multilateral trade negotiations beneath the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow told a novels conference here that the collapse last month of the WTO ministerial talks in Cancun, Mexico, ''could not diminish the importance of the (WTO) multilateral talks below the Doha Round.''

''It has calm more importance now for the APEC economies to work together to coordinate and play a part in trying to advance the Doha Round'' Sihasak said, echoing the views voiced by means of APEC officials in their first day of talks to prepare for nearest week's leaders' summit.

''It was felt that it was essential for the APEC leaders' meeting to despatch a clear signal on this position of APEC forward the importance of the WTO and the ne for the WTO's not away round to achieve the goals that have been wager out,'' the spokesman said.

The Doha progressive growth Round, launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 is crucial as it has been awaited to address concerns of developing countries, the Thai spokesman said.

Despite so concerns, host Thailand has not invited WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi to the Oct 20-21 talks of the APEC leaders, officials earlier said.

An APEC official said the United States and Australia sent literal meanings to the host country requesting that Thailand reconsider the plan not to invite the WTO chief.

''In fact, APEC senior officials agreed in August during the third senior officials meeting in Phuket to invite the WTO director general for the summit,'' the official said.

The official also said it might be up to the legion to issue the invitation and that it is important for APEC to maintain dialogue forward the global trading system

The issue of Supachai's invitation is calculate uponed to be raised by one key APEC members during bilateral talks with the entertainer country on the sidelines of the APEC ministerial meeting scheduled for Friday and Saturday, according to the official.

''There is a chance for the WTO director general to fit with the APEC leaders nearest week. APEC ministers will lobby the armed force on that,'' he said.

With core interest in the multilateral trading connected view APEC has had a tradition of inviting the WTO chief executive for high-level discussions in succession global trade.

When asked at reporters why Supachai was not invited, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday, ''The WTO has nothing to do with the APEC summit.''

''APEC has its concede secretariat, represented by the rotated army member economy,'' Thaksin said. The prime minister also said he ''did not know'' about any decision not to invite Supachai, who is a Thai.

''Since he became the WTO director general, we have not at all met. I don't know wherefore (Perhaps) Supachai might need to act neutral, might be afraid to be seen as too choke to the Thai government,'' the premier said.

The failure of WTO ministerial talks in Cancun has added press on APEC to rebuild confidence in the world trading system

In June the WTO chief was invited for APEC ministerial trade talks in the northeastern Thai city of Khon Kaen, on the contrary he has received no invitation to the summit.

The Nation, a Bangkok daily, reported Tuesday that tussles between Thaksin's administration and Supachai began after the Khon Kaen talks.

''Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik was pressur on APEC members to elevate Supachai's remarks, scheduled at the expiration of the meeting, to the beginning,'' the newspaper reported.

''APEC sources said Supachai was real popular in Khon Kaen. APEC ministers went public of their way to welcome him and he received a standing ovation at a gala dinner,'' the Nation said.

The exclusion of Supachai ''has raised speculation among APEC members about whether Thai politics has taken lead over this high-level meeting, or the (Thai) regulation has little appetite for building a global economic multilateral connected view or both,'' according to the Nation.

Supachai was a politician from the Democrat Party, popularly in opposition, before he left to head the WTO in September last year.

Supachai will, however, be in Bangkok during the APEC summit nearest week because he has been invited to deliver a keynote address Oct 19 for the parallel APEC business meeting among regional business executives.

The WTO chief is also likely to have separate talks with a APEC leaders or ministers, diplomatic sources said.

The 21 APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong Indonesia, Japan, southern Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua of the present day Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the U and Vietnam.

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