APEC is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. It is an inter-governmental forum, which operates on the basis of non binding commitment and open dialog. No treaty obligations APEC has 21 member economies with a population of over 2.6 billion which accounts for more than 40% of the world’s population. APEC countries have a combined GDP of 21 trillion US dollars which is more than half of world GDP. APEC accounts for nearly half of world trade.