Bush, Asia-Pacific leaders vow action on economy

President Bush and other world leaders vowed Sunday to act ‘quickly and decisively’ to battle the global economic crisis as the 21-member APEC summit predicted worldwide recovery in 18 months. But the final declaration from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum was short on specifics, beyond a vow by participating members to avoid pressures to implement ‘protectionist’ measures, such as import restrictions. ‘We are convinced that we can overcome this crisis in a period of 18 months,’ the leaders said in a forecast added to a statement originally issued Saturday. The 18-month timeline reportedly was inserted at the insistence of Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who hosted the three-day session of Pacific Rim countries that account for about half of the world’s economic output. ‘We are going to defeat this crisis,’ he vowed. Asked about the 18-month prediction, Daniel Price, a White House economic advisor who was at the summit, told reporters that Bush ‘believes that the actions we are taking now will begin to produce results in the much nearer term, in the coming months,’ adding: ‘The president shares the confidence that we will be able to get through this crisis.’

But several participants, including Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, described the 18-month timeline as more of a goal than a prediction.