The APEC Senior Officials' Meeting 1 (SOM1) held in Lima has more than exceeded expectations, including broad and active participation of the economies comprising this forum, said Ambassador Carlos Vasquez, the chair of these meetings.
"The Senior Officials' Meeting 1, which runs from February 24 to March 8, has more than met the expectations we have set for ourselves," Vasquez told
Andina news agency.
He emphasized that so far around 1,800 people, including delegates, experts, guests, journalists, and staff from the ministries, have participated in the 27 working groups.
According to the SOM chair, active participation of the economies has been noticed in all working groups that, unlike previous opportunities, have been fully established.
The broad participation, he said, supports Peru's organization of the APEC 2024 forum.
Ambassador Vasquez affirmed that, as part of this first meeting, events and forums are happening simultaneously, which are to be concluded on March 7 and 8 at the same time as the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting.
"Inputs will be gathered to be reported to the Senior Officials' Meeting, but we, in turn, have important goals for the year, pertaining to the APEC agenda that has been assumed by all economies," he stated.
Those goals, he explained, have to do with the three priorities proposed to APEC economies, which are: 1) Trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth, 2) Innovation and digitalization to promote transition to the formal and global economy, and 3) Sustainable growth for resilient development. Each goal will provide a deliverable for the next meetings.
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Published: 3/5/2024