Peru to Lead APEC Goals for 2024

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

Facing global challenges that have threatened recovery around the region, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) senior officials gathered on Lima, Peru, to set their priorities for 2024, aimed at developing more balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth in the Asia-Pacific.

Peru will chair APEC for the third time in 2024, hosting more than 160 meetings across five cities including Arequipa, Cusco, Trujillo, Pucallpa and Lima.

The symposium on Lima brought together more than 200 stakeholders from the public, private and academia, as well as civil society, international organizations, media and APEC officials.

“We present these priorities not only to the senior officials of the 21 APEC economies, but also to Peruvian society as APEC Peru 2024 could not be successful without the participation of all of our stakeholders to help us achieve the goals stated in the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 and its plan of action,” said Ambassador Carlos Vasquez, the 2024 Chair of APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting. 

Ambassador Vasquez announced Peru’s proposal for the overarching theme for APEC 2024 as “Empower. Include. Grow.”

It covers three priorities:

-Trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth. 
-Innovation and digitalization to promote transition to the formal and global economy. 
-Sustainable growth for resilient development. 

The meeting in Lima took place just two weeks after APEC economic leaders met in San Francisco, United States, where they committed to bringing resiliency, sustainability, interconnection, innovation and inclusion to the region, as well as working together to respond to the most pressing economic challenges.

Peru has been an APEC forum member since 1998, a fact that represented an important milestone for Peruvian foreign policy, since it has enabled its economy to consolidate its international outreach across the Asia-Pacific region —the most innovative, dynamic, and fastest growing one around the world.

During the aforementioned period, bilateral free trade agreements have also been negotiated with important APEC members such as: China, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Chile, Mexico, Japan, and Australia. Thanks to these efforts, approximately 1,500 SMEs and 2,200 MSMEs trade more efficiently with the Asia-Pacific region.