This photo provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Aug. 15, 2025, shows the third senior officials’ meeting held in Incheon, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, to prepare for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul-led action plan for the capacity building of developing economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was approved at a meeting of senior APEC officials held to prepare the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday.
The five-step Capacity Building Need Initiative (CBNI) for developing APEC economies was endorsed at the APEC 2025 Korea Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3), held in Incheon, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two-day SOM3 brought together some 5,800 officials from 21 APEC member economies, delegations from observers and the secretariat to discuss a road map on strengthening the service competitiveness of the Asia-Pacific region and improving the environment for business and trade as well as devising a new financial action plan for APEC.
In the meeting, APEC members called for efforts to maintain a rules-based multilateral trading system amid the rise of global trade protectionism, while stressing that digital transformation and innovation are key drivers of economic growth, the ministry said.
The Korean government briefed the members on the progress in key initiatives for the upcoming summit, including cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) and a joint response to demographic changes, and sought their support.
The annual APEC summit is set to be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in the country’s southeastern city of Gyeongju.
(Yonhap)
