Global spotlight on Bangkok as Apec 2022 opens
The Apec Economic Leaders’ Week kicked off on Monday at Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) and will run until Saturday.
Security and police officers took their places outside and inside the venue to ensure the six-day-long summit ran smoothly.
The first three days of the summit will see Senior Officials' Meetings will focus on “Bangkok Goals” on the bio-circular-green (BCG) economic model.
Thursday will see a full day of Apec Ministerial Meetings, that will cover balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth, open and sustainable trade and investment.
The day will wrap up with a gala dinner at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall.
Leaders and representatives from 21 economies will be attending the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Friday. Also attending will be three special guests of the government, namely Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia’s HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud.
The last day of the summit will feature the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting Retreat, followed by a speech from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as chair of the event.
Separately, a meeting of the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac), a private sector arm of Apec, will be held from Wednesday to Friday. The main mandate of this council is to advise Apec leaders and officials on issues of business interest.
The Abac Summit will be held under the theme "Embrace. Engage. Enable" with an aim to reconnect the world with opportunities, engage with the new digitised, sustainable and inclusive transformational model, and enable collaboration on new ideas, creativity and possibilities.
This is the first time in four years that Apec leaders are meeting face-to-face since the pandemic hit the world in 2019.
This summit is being held under the “Open. Connect. Balance” theme, which was conceptualised with the express purpose of advancing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) towards recovery in the post-Covid era. The summit also aims to bring about resilient, inclusive, balanced and sustainable long-term economic growth.
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