Still, judging by the bot manning the bar at the APEC forum in Busan, South Korea, we're inching ever closer to the day when ex-jocks don't have a guaranteed post-high school job at that local bar that sells booze to underage football players.

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In Thailand he will join other regional leaders at the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

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Significantly, he has invited President Lula to visit Peru when it hosts the November summit of the 21 Pacific Rim countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

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We've seen it in the Summit of the Americas and in the APEC Leaders Forum, where we have agreed with our partners to build a free and open trading system, early in the next century.

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We have used many opportunities to increase our presence in the global community, from the OECD to the APEC Women leaders Forum, to the Clinton Global Initiative CGI to the upcoming G20 Annual Meeting in France.

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The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (Apec), set up in 1989 mainly to promote trade among Pacific Rim states, now accounts for more than half of global economic output and almost half of all international trade.

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Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the leading Asia-Pacific economic forum.

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