Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called on Asia-Pacific partners on Thursday to work together to keep the region “open” and “connected” amid economic and geopolitical challenges testing regional resilience.
Cho made the call as he co-led the plenary of a top foreign and trade ministers’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, highlighting that the Asia-Pacific remains the engine of global growth and the “best hope” for a more prosperous future.
“Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension, climate disruption and demographic shifts are testing both our resilience and our resolve,” Cho said in the opening remark.
“Together, let us reaffirm APEC’s enduring purpose: to keep our region open, connected and forward-looking for the prosperity of all our people,” he said.
The APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM), jointly led by Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, was held to finalize discussions on key APEC agenda items, including trade and security, as Korea, as the APEC host, seeks to reach a consensus on global trade and other issues on which many countries have differing positions.
The AMM ministers will conclude their two-day session this week, with an aim to come up with agenda recommendations for the joint declaration to be adopted at the leaders’ summit on Friday and Saturday.
Cho emphasized that Korea has sought to place artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic changes “at the heart of our agenda” as emerging forces that will define the region’s prosperity.
“We have begun charting new frontiers of cooperation, linking innovation with inclusion, and progress with purpose,” he said.
The 21 APEC member economies seek to reach common ground on how they assess the current global trade landscape and define ways to promote growth and co-prosperity amid rising protectionism and weakening trade trends fueled by the intensifying competition between the United States and China.
The AMM’s first session, led by Cho, will address ways to respond to regional challenges through digital cooperation and promote co-prosperity, with the second session to focus on efforts to strengthen regional supply chains by utilizing new technologies, as well as efforts to enhance trade.
The AMM also plans to adopt a separate joint statement of its own besides the envisioned Gyeongju Declaration by the leaders, detailing its commitments to key APEC initiatives at the ministerial level.
As for the leaders’ declaration, it remains to be seen whether the member economies will reach consensus to produce such a document, due to differences on trade and security issues, particularly the World Trade Organization (WTO) system that has underpinned the global free trade order.
In recent years, most of the APEC economies have endorsed free trade based on the WTO system and reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism.
Between 2021 and 2024, all APEC summit declarations included the phrase: a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO “at its core,” which first appeared in the 2021 declaration, after Trump’s first term ended.
A leaders’ declaration can only be adopted by consensus, with support from every single APEC member.
The AMM will also discuss finalizing a new APEC road map for digital transformation, AI and demographic changes.
Other issues include food and energy security, and social protection policies to ensure long-term well-being in the face of climate and geopolitical risks.
