Apec meet to tackle summit priorities

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Apparently, Typhoon “Ruby” will not rain on the parade of the Philippine government, which is hosting next year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (Apec) Leaders Summit.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said Sunday the two-day Apec Informal Senior Officials Meeting (Isom) will proceed Monday as scheduled at the Makati Shangri-La hotel.

Symposium

The Apec Isom isexpected to be a symposium on Apec 2015 priorities.

“The Isom will introduce the Philippines’ Apec 2015 priorities, which are designed to ensure continuity of past and ongoing work in Apec; promote balance and relevance to each member economy’s domestic and regional needs, and ensure sustainability of efforts in achieving Apec’s short, medium and long term goals,” the DFA said in an earlier statement.

Monday’s meeting will take up six topics: 21st Century Megatrends and Challenges; An Inclusive Growth Strategy for the Apec region; Regional Economic Integration and the Multilateral Trading System; Fostering Small and Medium Enterprises’ Participation in Regional and Global Markets; Human Capital Development, and Sustainable and Resilient Communities.

Speakers

Among the speakers are Dr. Bernard Hoekman of the European University Institute; Jaime Zobel de Ayala of the Ayala Group of Companies; Diane Wang, cofounder and CEO of DHGate.com; Ramon del Rosario Jr. of Philippine Business for Education; Nobuaki Hamaguchi of the Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration; and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda.

Closed-door

Other speakers are Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa who will deliver the welcome remarks and Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan who will deliver speeches.

On Tuesday, Apec senior officials and selected delegates will have a closed-door discussion on the outcome of the symposium and “how these can enhance the Apec 2015 overarching theme of inclusive growth.”