The South Korean government has emphasized the need to actively utilize free trade agreements (FTAs) and open multilateral cooperation to enhance economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. It also proposed creating a trade environment that businesses can feel through improvements in customs procedures using artificial intelligence (AI) and the reduction of investment barriers.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Trade Negotiations Chief Park Jeong-seong participated in the 37th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting on Foreign Affairs and Trade, held virtually on November 3. The meeting, chaired by China, brought together foreign and trade ministers from APEC member economies to discuss ways to build an Asia-Pacific community and expand regional economic integration.
Chief Park presented three priority tasks to advance regional economic integration: expanding practical cooperation, utilizing AI, and generating tangible results that businesses can experience. He particularly emphasized the need to activate open multilateral cooperation among economies willing to collaborate in areas of common interest while simultaneously expanding and deepening regional FTAs.
Open multilateral cooperation allows some economies to initiate collaboration while keeping the door open for others to join later. Park explained, "This approach can flexibly respond to diverse cooperation needs and spread concrete results throughout the Asia-Pacific region."
He also proposed measures to facilitate trade using AI, noting that enhancing connectivity between customs systems of different countries and simplifying trade procedures could improve customs efficiency and predictability.
Last November, during the APEC summit held in Gyeongju, the 'APEC AI Initiative' was adopted to strengthen regional AI capabilities and promote joint responses. At that time, member economies agreed to pursue cooperation to expand economic opportunities arising from AI transformation and enhance technological capabilities. Park stated that it is necessary to strengthen cooperation among member economies to ensure that these discussions lead to tangible outcomes.
Improving the investment environment was also highlighted as a key task. Park stressed the importance of establishing a transparent and predictable investment environment while reducing unnecessary investment barriers and administrative procedures. He expressed support for improving the investment environment through the implementation of the APEC Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP), adopted in 2008 and revised last year in Jeju. Additionally, he proposed enhancing communication and swiftly sharing information among economies in response to global supply chain disruptions.
Based on the discussions from this meeting, the Ministry plans to continue cooperation to expand regional trade and investment at the upcoming APEC summit scheduled for November 18-19.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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