AlHijjah 17, 1432, Nov 13, 2011, SPA - US President Barack Obama and Eight Asia-Pacific leaders on Saturday agreed to "broad outlines" of a free-trade deal that they hope 12 other regional economies will eventually join. "There are still plenty of details to work out, but we are confident that we can do so," President Obama said on behalf of the nine leaders. "So we've directed our teams to finalize this agreement in the coming year," he said. "It is an ambitious goal, but we are optimistic that we can get it done." The U.S. President hosted a dinner at a beachside hotel last night for the other 20 leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies ahead of their trade-focused summit on Sunday, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA".
