HANOI -- Over 1,100 representatives from leading multi-national corporations of the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Hanoi Friday, kicking off the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum's CEO Summit.

The summit is considered the biggest event of the business community of the region in 2006.

The event, annually organized along with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting since 1996, has become an important forum for leaders, businessmen, policy makers and researchers to share experiences and propose suggestions and solutions for strengthening economic cooperation within the region and between the APEC member economies with the rest of the world.

This year's summit is held under the theme of "Towards One Community: Creating New Opportunities for Shared Development."

Presidents and prime ministers of the APEC economies have been invited to attend the event of business executives. Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are among the guests scheduled to speak on the first day of the event.

Founded in 1989, APEC is a major regional forum acting as the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic and technical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

It represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, with its 21 member economies accounting for more than one third of the world's population, approximately 60 percent of world GDP, about 47 percent of world trade.