The annual Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has become an important political ritual, providing an opportunity for leaders to meet face to face and build confidence. This year’s meeting, held in Brunei Darussalam on November 15-16, demonstrated that APEC has yet to realize the vision of its founding fathers: that economic cooperation has the overarching purpose of developing cohesive action on economic issues of abiding mutual interest. Bilateral cooperation is not enough, the founders believed, the region’s economic interdependence requires concerted action in order for both developing and developed countries to move forward.