23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held in Manila, Philippines. It marks the second time the Philippines is playing host to the APEC, first hosted in 1996 in Subic, Zambales.
Theme – “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World: A Vision for an Asia-Pacific Community”
- As part of the APEC tradition, custom-made Barong Tagalog clothing were designed for the economic leaders to wear during the “family-photo” portion of the event to showcase Philippine fashion and talent.
Key Discussed topics – Fighting terrorism, Growth weapon, Fighting poverty, World economy, Climate change
Highlights of Summit
Declaration Leaders from 21 countries and self-governing territories meeting in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit issued a declaration that denounces terrorism and vows united efforts to combat its root causes. Here are the important commitments:
- Building Inclusive Economies – To support comprehensive and ambitious structural reforms; achieve positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes; and promote good governance.
- To deepen our financial markets and mitigate risks – Fostering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises’ Participation in Regional and Global Markets
- Trading environment – To foster an enabling trading environment that is responsive to new ways in which goods and services are produced and delivered and that promotes inclusiveness.
- Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities – Through the APEC DRR Framework, minimization of losses and ensure that communities have the support to overcome adversity and to build back better.
- To make urbanization work for growth – Rapid urbanization which includes innovative ways of addressing waste management and water-related challenges
- Investing in Human Capital Development – To redouble the efforts, empower people with the tools to benefit from and participate in economic growth.
- Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda – To achieve vision for an integrated community in a comprehensive and systematic manner.
- Strengthening Collaboration – To work with stakeholders to address common challenges.
- Support – To strongly support the work of our Ministers, the APEC Process and all its Committees and Fora.
About APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Establishment – 1989
1st APEC Summit – Canberra, Australia
Next APEC summit venues
28th Summit – 2016- Peru
29th Summit – 2017- Vietnam
30th Summit – 2018 – Papua New Guinea
31st Summit – 2019 – Chile
32nd Summit – 2020 – Canada
33rd Summit – 2021 – New Zealand
34th Summit – 2022 – Thailand