premise: APEC ministers said here Wednesday that APEC's goal of economic prosperity could not be achieved unless corruption, both in the domestic economies and in international business transactions, was effectively addressed and those individuals guilty of corruption were denied a safe haven.
  In a joint statement issued on the conclusion of the two-day 17th APEC Ministerial Meeting Wednesday, ministers from the 21 member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) said corruption is one of the largest barriers to APEC's road to free trade, further economic development and greater prosperity.
  They reaffirmed that they would continue to look for avenues to effectively address this important issue within APEC and in other fora.
  They commended the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency (ACT) Task Force for beginning its important work.
  The ministers stressed the importance of capacity building programs and encouraged member economies to develop and submit capacity building projects in support of APEC works in transparency as well as in anti-corruption.
   What is preventing APEC's goal from being achieved?
hypothesis: corruption is one of the largest barriers