APEC Senior Officials conclude matters under OPEN. CONNECT. BALANCE.
Essential to APEC Economic Leaders' Week (AELW) 2022, hosted by Thailand at Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, were the Concluding Senior Officials' Meetings (CSOM) that took place in three sessions from 15-16 November, 2022.
The meetings finalized matters of discussion from this year's senior officials' meetings and drafted them into documents to be presented to APEC leaders for their consideration and approval.
Attended by 21 APEC Senior Officials, the first two sessions focused on trade and investment issues under APEC 2022's priority of "Open to All Opportunities" as well as seamless connectivity in both the physical and digital realms under the priority of "Connect in All Dimensions".
Highlighted by the officials were the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), APEC Economic Policy Report 2022, the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap (AIDER) and APEC Safe Passage Taskforce's recommendations.
Talks reiterated that APEC intends to bring new momentum to the FTAAP discussion, drawing on lessons from COVID-19 as well as to reconnect the region and rebuild the travel and tourism sectors hard hit by the pandemic. Both the FTAAP multi-year work plan and APEC Safe Passage Taskforce's recommendations have been underlined as key deliverables of Thailand's APEC host year.
The third CSOM session on Wednesday, 16 November, 2022, centered on the "Balance in All Aspects" priority, in particular, the latest status of the draft Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy to be submitted to APEC Ministers for consideration and APEC Leaders for endorsement.
The four goals of the draft are climate action including net zero greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable trade and investment, conservation, sustainable use and management of the environment and natural resources, including biodiversity, and resource efficiency and sustainable waste management towards zero waste.
Senior officials also noted Thailand's proposal on the annual APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award to recognize exemplary implementation of BCG economy approaches to advance sustainable and inclusive growth.
The Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy and the Annual BCG Award are to form a legacy for Thailand's APEC host year and it is the hope that these developments will accelerate APEC's sustainability agenda in a more holistic and integrated manner.
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