DESPITE its fair share of detractors since its founding in 1989, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum remains the most significant regional economic grouping of the Asia Pacific region. Taken together, its 21 members - which uniquely include the three major economies of the US, Japan and China - have half the world's population, produce more than half of the global economic output, and engage in 60 percent of world trade. Most significantly, the 21 economies have generated an estimated 70 percent of the world's economic growth over the past decade. Mexico became the first Latin American economy to chair APEC after last year's summit in Shanghai, China, in October 2001. Mexico will be hosting the 10th APEC Summit at the end of October 2002 at the stylish resort of Los Cabos, where 21 heads of state and government from Asia, Australasia, North America and Latin America will gather to further the region's economic interests. At the top of their agenda will be how to deal with the downturn in the global economy following the threat from international terrorism. These issues will no doubt capture the world's headlines. However, APEC is also about longer-term - and to most people less interesting - concerns such as keeping the region's markets open to trade and investment and removing impediments to stronger economic linkages across the region.