Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Economic forum of Asia–Pacific nations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC /ˈeɪpɛk/ AY-pek[1]) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.[2] Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s,[3] APEC started in 1989,[4] in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.[5] Headquartered in Singapore,[6] APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region,[7] and exerts significant global influence.[8][9][10][11]
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Singapore |
Type | Economic meeting |
Membership | |
Leaders | |
• Chairperson | Pres. Dina Boluarte |
• Executive Director | Rebecca Fatima Santa Maria |
Establishment | 1989; 35 years ago (1989) |
Website www |
The heads of government of all APEC members except Taiwan (which is represented by a ministerial-level official as economic leader)[12] attend an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host country. APEC has three official observers: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.[13] APEC's Host Economy of the Year is considered to be invited in the first place for geographical representation to attend G20 meetings following G20 guidelines.[14][15]