Leaders converge in Bali for APEC summit

Leaders or representatives of almost all APEC members arrived here Sunday for the 21st APEC summit slated for Monday and Tuesday, according to sources from the summit media center. On the heels of the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday and leaders of eight other APEC members on Saturday, leaders from Peru, Brunei, the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam flied in onto the Indonesian island on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to touch down around noon on Monday for the annual leaders' meeting. As U.S. President Barack Obama canceled his planned Asia trip, including the APEC summit, to deal with the shutdown of the U.S. government due to budget standoff, John Kerry, who has attended the APEC ministerial meeting, will show up at the summit on Obama' s behalf. Economic issues related to attaining the Borgor Goals, achieving sustainable growth with equity, promoting connectivity are expected to take the center stage of the summit with " Resilient Asia Pacific, engine of global growth" as its theme. The two-day event, the culmination of this year's APEC forum, is held after the ministerial meeting and the CEO summit.