BEIJING, November 11. /TASS/. The leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum said in a joint statement on Tuesday they are concerned by the deadlock in implementing WTO (World Trade Organization) agreement on assisting trade and believe that this undermines trust to the organization as a negotiation venue.

The joint statement, approved by leaders in Beijing after the 22nd APEC meeting, says that the situation questions the possibility of complying with the agreements reached at the 2013 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

APEC will play a leading role in the search by the WTO members for the way out of the deadlock and implementation of the Bali agreements and continue the work on post-Bali action program which is set to become a cornerstone to complete the Doha round talks.

The Doha trade talks have been deadlocked since 2008 over differences on major issues between members including agriculture, industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers, services and trade remedies.

The APEC countries have also prolonged their obligation to refrain from protectionism till the end of 2018.

As follows from the declaration adopted at the 22nd meeting of the APEC leaders in Beijing, the member-countries extended their pledge to refrain from protectionism till the end of 2018 and reaffirmed their readiness for curtailing protectionism and other restrictive measures in trade.