The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Deputy Minister Kim Jin-ah participated in the virtual 37th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Foreign Affairs (AMM) held on November 3. This year's meeting was conducted online due to a decision by the host country, China, despite the usual in-person format during the APEC summit week.
Hosted by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, the meeting included foreign and trade ministers from the 21 APEC member economies. Discussions focused on key APEC priorities of openness, innovation, and cooperation, including strategies for regional economic integration and preparations for the upcoming APEC summit.
During the first session, Deputy Minister Kim highlighted South Korea's achievements as last year's APEC chair, noting the successful development of a joint statement addressing new regional challenges such as artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic changes. She emphasized that these efforts have broadened the scope of APEC cooperation. Kim reiterated South Korea's commitment to enhancing the outcomes of its chairmanship and contributing to the successful hosting of this year's APEC summit, while also outlining cooperation directions for the prosperity of the APEC community.
Kim stressed the necessity of a successful AI transition for the Asia-Pacific region to continue leading in innovation and technological advancement, underscoring the importance of APEC-level collaboration in this regard. She called for strengthening cooperation mechanisms among member economies based on last year's 'APEC AI Initiative' and announced South Korea's plans to establish innovation platforms such as a global AI hub and an Asia-Pacific AI center to support regional AI development and transition.
Additionally, she pointed out the importance of an inclusive approach to ensure that the benefits of openness and innovation are distributed across all APEC member economies. Kim introduced key initiatives led by South Korea, such as the 'Capacity Building for Developing Countries Negotiation Initiative (CBNI)' and the 'APEC Future Jobs Forum,' aimed at enhancing inclusivity in the region, and pledged to expand contributions to ensure that the benefits of innovation in the AI era reach everyone.
She also emphasized the need for all generations to equally benefit from demographic changes and called for continuous advancement of the demographic change agenda at the APEC level.
Furthermore, Kim highlighted the importance of establishing a stable energy supply chain to sustain the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific community, particularly in light of the region's vulnerability to crises originating from the Middle East. She urged APEC to play a comprehensive role in strengthening energy supply chains among member economies and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts to enhance regional energy resilience and diversify energy supplies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that as a founding member of APEC and a key contributor to various agendas, South Korea plans to lead discussions within APEC to enhance its international standing.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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