The 18th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting opened in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday afternoon.

The APEC session brought together leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific nations including South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The meeting will end on Sunday.

The leaders will discuss growth strategies on Saturday while holding talks on regional economic integration, and free trade and investment on Sunday.

They will adopt a declaration called the “Yokohama Vision” in which the results of their discussions will be embodied.

The session will discuss potential pathways to creating a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP,) such as signing a trans-Pacific partnership (TPP) agreement and using the framework of the ASEAN plus six countries—South Korea, China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.