IN THE face of the current financial crisis, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum is planning to bring together its senior trade and finance officials in a series of informal meetings.

The aim is to facilitate active dialogue between the two groups from the 21- member countries in a less formal setting, along the lines of the Senior Officials' Meeting held here last month.

Apec secretariat executive director Michael Tay is also planning to add some practical initiatives to help businesses in the face of the current crisis, which he said is the primary focus of the organisation.

Speaking at a seminar - Apec: Relevant or Passe - at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at Pasir Panjang on Monday, he highlighted Apec's agenda for this year.

The top priority is to 'serve as the best possible firewall against protectionist pressures' by working to keep up the current levels of access for cross-border trade and investment flows, he said.