Pacific Rim ministers pledged Thursday to compile a long-term "inclusive" growth strategy for the region in 2010 and accelerate efforts to seek the integration of their economies through trade and investment liberalization.

The foreign and trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum said in a joint statement after their two-day meeting in Singapore that they will continue to reject protectionism in international trade, and urged "maximum flexibility" to successfully conclude the stalled Doha Round liberalization talks under the World Trade Organization within next year.

The agreement at the talks will be reflected during the summit of APEC leaders scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.

Host Singapore has proposed that economic growth within the 21-member APEC after the recent global recession must be more "inclusive" to ensure both developed and developing members and all segments of society benefit from the economic integration, with those in socially weak positions given intense attention.

The ministers instruct officials to "develop a multiyear capacity building program on inclusive growth" and report on the progress at next year's ministerial meeting.

Japan will host a series of APEC meeting in 2010, effectively assuming a leading role in drafting the long-term comprehensive growth strategy that may include such measures as assisting smaller companies, improving social safety nets and enhancing trade in energy-efficient and environment-friendly goods.

"As surrounding environment has changed, we would like to suggest a growth strategy for APEC next year," Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Masayuki Naoshima said at a press conference after the meeting. "Given the dynamism of the Asian economy, I believe APEC is very important."

On the global economy, the ministers said tensions have "eased considerably" though the recovery "remains fragile."

Accelerating regional economic integration has been very high on the agenda at international conferences in the region.

"We reaffirm our commitment to accelerating work on APEC's core agenda of strengthening REI (regional economic integration)," the statement said.

The initiative comes amid recent heated debate over which of the existing groupings could be the most suitable base to develop a further closer multilateral union in the future. There are two major groupings in the area -- APEC and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which holds regular summits with Japan, China and India.

The debate is also about whether the United States should directly join such an envisaged closer union. If it is APEC-based, the door is no doubt open for Washington.

But the ministers seem to be falling short of striking a deal with details.

They pledged to continue to "explore building blocks" toward a possible Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. However, conference sources said some work will be left undone to develop a range of possible pathways as the concept has yet to be concretely established and some countries, including China, are cautious about U.S. participation.

"I think it's a vision that any region could aspire to...I don't think it hurts to think big and to think far into the future," ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters. But he added that the ministers "are just exploring the possibilities and the visibilities."

Japan has proposed an idea of forming an "East Asian community," although Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has left vague which countries should and should not join the framework.

The Asian economic integration that Japan seeks "would be based on the security alliance between Japan and the United States," Naoshima told U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk during their bilateral talks Wednesday held on the sidelines of the APEC ministerial meeting.

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Friday and hold talks with Hatoyama. The two leaders are expected to confirm a strong bilateral alliance before heading to Singapore for the weekend APEC leaders' summit.

In Singapore, Obama is scheduled to meet ASEAN leaders, apparently as part of Washington's efforts to prevent a regional community without the United States from becoming established in Asia.

On the WTO talks, the ministers chose harsh wording, indicating frustrations of the organization's Director General Pascal Lamy, who was also in Singapore to urge further political commitment to wrap up the Doha Round talks, launched in 2001 and originally scheduled to be concluded in 2005.

"We agree to direct our officials to exercise pragmatism and maximum flexibility on all issues to narrow gaps and secure convergence on a final package," the statement said.

APEC, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the world's economic output and 40 percent of the value of global trade, groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.