Buenos Aires  - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is set to be held Saturday and Sunday in Lima with the focus on the global economic crisis.

The meeting is set to be George W Bush's last major international gathering as US president as he prepares to leave office in January after eight years on the job.

Many have noted that Bush is now a lame duck leader, but while Peru invited US president-elect Barack Obama to attend the summit, the senator from Illinois declined the offer - and many others - so as not to give the impression of a two-headed US administration.

Bush is hardly leaving office on a high note, and he and colleagues like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese President Hu Jintao, among others, are set to arrive in Peru fresh from an emergency summit on the financial crisis over the past weekend in Washington.

The crisis is indeed going to be the focus of the APEC leaders' meeting after the Washington summit granted emerging countries a new role in fixing the global economy.

But other issues are set to be discussed, too.

"We had wanted to discuss food and energy security, which is still on the agenda, as well as how to get Doha back on the table and other issues such as corporate social responsibility," Thai deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thingpakdi said, referring to the latest round of World Trade Organization talks to lower trade barriers, launched in Doha in 2001.

Peruvian Deputy Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez said the meeting's final declaration was also to mention the fight against terrorism, climate change and the prevention of natural disasters as well as corruption insofar as it poses a threat to "the fluidity of commercial exchange and the promotion of investment in the region."

The gathering in Lima is to feature a further point of interest as Hu comes together with former Taiwanese vice president Lien Chan, who was designated the island's representative at the summit.

The choice of a representative is meaningful: Lien of the China-friendly Nationalist Party travelled to China in 2005 and met with Hu in the highest-level exchange between the two governments since 1945. Since his trip, cross-strait relations have improved substantially, albeit focused on improving business ties.

Lien and Hu have since met many times in Beijing, and it seemed likely that they also would meet in Lima.

"Everything is still under planning, but I think people can have the expectation," Lien said. "We should be looking forward to it if there is such an opportunity."

Previous Taiwan representatives at APEC meetings have been lower level, and Lien's presence showed potential for progress in bilateral ties because it would be the first time high-level officials from the two parties would meet in an international setting.

APEC refers to itself as having 21 member economies rather than member countries because it includes the Chinese territory of Hong Kong and also Taiwan, which China sees as its breakaway province. For the same reason, its summits bring together "leaders" rather than the more usual heads of state or government.

The group's 19 other members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The Asia-Pacific region represents an estimated 49 per cent of world trade and 55 per cent of the global gross domestic product, according to APEC, and the organization stresses a clear "commitment to open trade, investment and economic reform."

The forum was created in 1989 with 12 members, and annual leaders meetings have been held since 1993.

About 39,000 police officers were set to provide security during the summit while an unspecified number of military officers were to support their operations.

The photograph of the participating leaders that comes to characterize all international summits is particularly eventful at APEC meetings: Leaders traditionally dress in costumes characteristic of the host country - from the bombardier jackets of Seattle in 1993 to the ao gam of Hanoi in 2006. (dpa)