1. The 1st
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in
2022 was held in a virtual format from February 24 to 25. COVID-19 response,
economic recovery measures, safe ways for cross-border movement within the
Asia-Pacific region, and this year’s important APEC cooperation issues were
discussed at the meeting.
2. At this meeting,
member economies agreed on the need to develop an open environment for trade
and investment to foster economic recovery in the region from the COVID-19
pandemic and agreed to work together to expand regional free trade, strengthen
competitiveness in the service sectors, and resume regional cross-border
movement (“safe passage”).
o APEC Senior Officials also emphasized the
importance of facilitating trade to ensure stability in regional supply chains
and reaffirmed the willingness to move forward the greater economic integration
initiatives including the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
o Member economies agreed to develop ways to
assure safe and sustainable travel within the region and strengthen information
sharing about each member economy’s preventive measures and entry restrictions
against the pandemic. Senior Officials also decided to discuss ways to
inter-operate vaccine certificates.
o APEC members decided to continuously work
hard to accomplish the goals of the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the Aotearoa
Action Plan and agreed to continue discussions to develop a more comprehensive
and effective plan to evaluate their implementation.
3. Acting
Director-General of the International Economic Affairs Bureau Ahn Seryeong
presented Korea’s activities in APEC this year and mentioned Korea would
continue to contribute to APEC projects for economic growth of the region and
regional integration.
o She requested member economies to support
the Capacity Building Needs Initiative (CBNI), which Korea has led since 2012
as part of the efforts to realize the FTAAP.
o Acting Director-General also emphasized on
Korea’s efforts to enhance competitiveness of the service sectors in the
Asia-Pacific region and encouraged member economies to implement the matters
agreed in APEC such as the Service Competitiveness Roadmap.
o In addition, she pointed out the importance
of enhancing connectivity among the people in the region and mentioned that
Korea would share information including its practices of safe cross-border
travel(“safe passage”) and actively participate in related discussions.
4. The first SOM
this year served as an opportunity to reaffirm the willingness among APEC
members to enhance cooperation in promoting the economic recovery and
development of the Asia-Pacific region. It also provided a renewed momentum for
cooperation, and member economies exchanged constructive opinions on the future
direction of APEC such as how to make progress in the regional economic
integration.
o The Korean government will continue to
cooperate at upcoming SOMs and ministerial meetings, aiming to yield practical
outcomes at this year’s APEC summit in November.