The meeting will set the agenda for the Forum for East Asia Latin America Cooperation (Fealac) conference of foreign ministers to formally open late Thursday at a dinner in the presidential palace.

Philippine ambassador George Reyes, spokesman of the Fealac meeting, said the session of senior officials would initially take up "items where there is ready consensus," such as closer economic and cultural cooperation between the two regions.

Later, the officials will also discuss "topics where there is no consensus yet," mainly the calls from East Asia for greater "political collaboration," Reyes said.

He explained that the Latin American countries still disagreed on whether there was a basis for greater political collaboration with East Asia.

Reyes however said host nation Philippines believed that economic and cultural ties would eventually lead to "more political dialogue."

This would hopefully lead to the two regions possibly "synchronizing policies on political issues in international fora," for example in matters regarding the Korean peninsula.

The Fealac working group on economic matters already has concrete projects to be discussed by the senior officials before they are referred to the foreign ministers, Reyes said.