The Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) and related events concluded in the southern city of Arequipa Thursday with two important deliverables or statements —documents that contain consensus agreements by the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
APEC 2024 Senior Officials Meetings Chair, Ambassador Carlos Vasquez, reported that the approval of these statements came after two very intense weeks of working group sessions.
"I want to highlight two extremely relevant deliverables over these two weeks. Firstly, the Arequipa Goals, whose objective is to empower people with disabilities. This has been a longstanding aspiration of the forum, which has translated into a concrete outcome. This statement includes specific goals to favor empowerment through education, capacity building, and social protection," he indicated.
During a press conference, following the conclusion of the abovementioned meetings, Ambassador Vasquez indicated that these statements are in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The diplomat stated that this document reiterates the call for economies to redouble their efforts to adopt measures that contribute to the economic empowerment of women across the Asia-Pacific region; prioritize access to education and training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers; and address how gender-based violence can impact their capacity.
"It has been a quite productive meeting; we have made significant progress. These are the first deliverables of APEC 2024. Now, we can say with considerable satisfaction that we are beginning to reap the rewards of all Peru's efforts to ensure a successful APEC 2024 year," Vasquez concluded.