SINGAPORE, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Foreign ministers from Pacific Rim countries met in Singapore on Wednesday morning ahead of an APEC summit, for informal discussions focusing on economic security.

Leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum countries, which include the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, will meet in the southeast Asian state on the weekend.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said after hosting an informal breakfast with his counterparts that the sides agreed on the need to improve economic safeguards to prevent a further economic slump.

He also called for free trade and warned against protectionism.

"There is creeping protectionism now; that is very dangerous. It is a slippery slope, and if we're not careful, before we know it, all of us will be in a much more dire situation," he told reporters.

The discussions also addressed means of ensuring balanced economic growth among APEC countries, which account for almost 60% of world trade, as well as countering terrorism enforcing food safety standards.

Valery Sorokin, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative, said Russia voiced its support for measures to reduce economic protectionism in the region, and for structural reforms.

The ministers will release a joint statement on Thursday.