Lima  - The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on Thursday called on the region's leaders to resist the "potential reactionary measures of protectionism and draconian regulation."

ABAC president Juan Francisco Raffo and other officials said at a press conference in Lima that such measures provide an "easy way out for politicians" in the face of rising unemployment and other issues with the widening of the global financial crisis.

The council praised the commitment of the Group of 20 industrialised nations, which met for an emergency summit Saturday in Washington, against protectionism. However, ABAC also said that specific action was needed, in the form of a monitoring system that detects protectionist measures ranging from outright tariffs to non- tariff barriers on investment and trade.

ABAC stressed the need to support small and medium-sized enterprises in this time of crisis and facilitate their access to finance and new technology.

The comments came just hours after the foreign and trade ministers of the 21 economies that make up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum also called for cooperation and rejected any form of protectionism.

The leaders of APEC members were expected to reinforce this message this weekend, at their annual meeting in Lima. (dpa)