HANOI -- The Business Advisory Council of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), or ABAC, will open a three-day meeting in Vietnam's capital Hanoi Tuesday afternoon.

Established in November 1995, ABAC is the sole non-governmental entity to play an official role in the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting through a formal dialogue. It is tasked to provide actionable advice to APEC leaders on business sector priorities or business perspective on specific areas of cooperation, and respond when the various APEC fora request information about business- related issues.

ABAC comprises of up to three members of the private sector from each of the 21 APEC economies. ABAC members are appointed by their respective leaders, and represent a range of business sectors, including small and medium enterprises. The economy determines the term of membership of each appointee as well as its own administrative arrangements and staff support.

The ABAC theme for 2006 is "Driving Forward a Prosperous and Harmonized APEC Community".