Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) Chairman Bob Buckle said that growth of India and China would play a major role in the world economic recovery. A continued strong economic growth in the two countries would be vital to help restore market confidence during the global financial meltdown.

Bob Buckle also said that the current financial crisis might not be as bad as the 1930 Depression because of the emerging economies like India and China. He mentioned that these economies would have to reform their economic policies to be more resilient to market shocks.

The Economic Committee of the APEC Secretariat will release its annual economic policy report on Thursday ahead of the APEC summit that begins Saturday. APEC was established in 1989 and consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.