The meeting was scheduled on June 29 to join efforts of APEC members to contain the deadly disease known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome, Thailand's foreign spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying on Wednesday.

The APEC trade ministers will also discuss the impact of the epidemic disease on a meeting scheduled on June 2 to 3 in northeastern Thailand.

The APEC proceedings of this year has been influenced by the outbreak of SARS, including postponement of an APEC tourism working group meeting scheduled on April 8 to 9.

On April 29, Thailand hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) special summit on SARS, at which ASEAN leaders pledged to contain the disease with cooperative measures.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at that meeting called on the APEC health ministers to meet and take joint actions against SARS as soon as possible, saying that such joint endeavor is an important new step in ASEAN-APEC collaboration.

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2003)