APEC Senior Officials Meeting Held... Discussion on Cooperation for COVID-19 Response

Participation of 21 Member Economies... Review of Progress on Key APEC Initiatives

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The 2nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held via video conference over two days from the 28th to the 29th to discuss regional cooperation measures in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to review the progress of key APEC initiatives related to trade and investment liberalization and economic and technological cooperation.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 30th, APEC is the largest regional economic cooperation body in the Asia-Pacific region, operating through policy dialogue and consultation with the goal of economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. It consists of 21 member economies including Korea, the United States, China, and seven ASEAN countries. From the Korean side, Lee Sung-ho, Director-General for Economic Diplomacy Coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended as the chief representative.

At this meeting, △ the trends in discussions on key APEC initiatives promoted by various sub-committees such as the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) were introduced, and △ the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) presented opinions on the future vision (Post-2020 Vision) indicating the direction APEC should take following the 1994 Bogor Goals. Member economies including Korea, Malaysia, and China discussed APEC-level cooperation measures for COVID-19 response led by their respective countries.

At this meeting, member economies agreed to finalize the final report evaluating the achievement level of the Bogor Goals, aiming for adoption at the Leaders' and Ministers' Meetings, and to approve it at the final Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM) in November. Additionally, they decided to accelerate the drafting process of the APEC future vision aiming for adoption at this year’s Leaders' Meeting and to review member proposals related to COVID-19 response cooperation during the session.

The Korean side evaluated that the final evaluation report on the Bogor Goals would be an important milestone demonstrating APEC’s achievements as a regional economic forum, and emphasized that the APEC future vision should be completed to actively and clearly express the member economies’ willingness to cooperate for regional economic growth, similar to the Bogor Goals.

Furthermore, amid prolonged border closures due to the extended COVID-19 situation causing obstacles to business activities, Korea stated the need to share policies among member economies to facilitate the movement of essential personnel such as businesspeople and to seek creative solutions. Member economies agreed to closely cooperate with the chair country, Malaysia, to ensure the successful hosting of this year’s Leaders' Meeting.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "This meeting is evaluated as an opportunity to reaffirm the willingness of member economies to cooperate in COVID-19 response in the Asia-Pacific region, to maintain the continuity of APEC activities, and to strengthen the momentum for cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the post-COVID era by promising to establish the future vision, which will be APEC’s long-term goal, within this year and to proceed with APEC activities without disruption despite the prolonged COVID-19 situation."

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