The United States held the third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting and related meetings (SOM 3) in Seattle Washington, from July 29 to August 21, 2023. During the three-week period, the city hosted 200 meetings including six ministerials, dozens of workshops, and roundtable discussions. In total, over 3,500 delegates, representing government, business, and academia from all 21 APEC economies participated in SOM 3 related events. The National Center for APEC played a key role in facilitating engagement in the SOM 3 meetings for non-governmental attendees. Members from NCAPEC, the U.S. APEC Business Advisory Council, and the U.S. Committee for the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (US-PECC) participated in workshops, spoke on panels, and provided their expertise and perspectives at meetings throughout the month.
APEC Ministerials and Senior Officials’ Meeting
APEC SME Ministerial Meeting
Monica Hardy Whaley, NCAPEC president and ABAC USA alternate member shared a supply chain resiliency toolkit for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) at the APEC SME Ministerial. Developed in cooperation with UPS and J&J, the toolkit allows businesses to assess their supply chain resiliency across 27 indicators in areas such as supply chain flexibility, visibility, and redundancy. Access the toolkit here: https://supplychainresiliencetoolkit.ncapec.org
APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting
ABAC USA Member Giner Lew conveyed ABAC’s key recommendations to the APEC energy ministers during the 13th APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting. Business recommendations to the energy ministers include working to quickly reduce carbon emissions, prioritize reliable energy access for all, and to invest in the development of physical and digital energy infrastructure.
Third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting
Dominic Ng, ABAC 2023 chair, informed APEC Senior Officials on the themes of the 2023 ABAC Report to Leaders, gave an update on the deliverables for the year, and discussed the outcomes of the Council’s most recent meeting in Cebu, Philippines.
Workshops and Dialogues
Energy Ministerial Public Private Sector Session
Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft welcomed APEC energy ministers to the Microsoft campus conference center for a ministerial session on the roles that public and private sectors can play in supporting APEC economies’ efforts to transition to clean energy sources.
Women’s Economic Forum: Public-Private Dialogue
ABAC USA member Laura Lane (second from left) participated in the WEF: Public-Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy. The conversation focused on women as key economic actors for all APEC economies and how investment in women leads to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and resilient communities.
Workshop in Support of Regional Cloud Transformation
NCAPEC board member companies participated in the second APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group (TEL) Workshop in Support of Regional Cloud Transformation and contributed to the formulation of cloud principles. http://mddb.apec.org/Documents/2023/TEL/TEL67-PLEN/23_tel67_plen_017.pdf
APEC Human Resources Development Working Group’s workshop on Closing the Digital Skills Gap
Ms. Naria Santa Lucia, General Manager of Digital Inclusion for Microsoft, spoke about the importance of multistakeholder perspectives when considering AI and the future of work at the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group’s workshop on Closing the Digital Skills Gap: Promoting an Inclusive Digitally Skilled Workforce for Sustainable Growth.
30th PECC General Meeting
US-PECC organized the 30th PECC General Meeting during SOM 3. The annual General Meeting is PECC’s primary forum for developing strategic perspectives and advice for APEC. To complement the SOM 3 focus on digital issues under the moniker APEC Digital Month, the 30th General Meeting explored ways digital tools and new technologies can create innovative solutions to the region’s challenges and drive economic growth. Speakers included academics and researchers, NCAPEC board members, ABAC members, and representatives of local small businesses.
Memorable Moments
The U.S. Private Sector Host Committee, the Seattle City Host Committee, and US-PECC hosted APEC Senior Officials, PECC delegates, private sector attendees, and local minority chambers of commerce representatives for an evening reception at the Chihuly Museum.
SOM 3 and PECC General Meeting Reception at the Chihuly Museum
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell addressed APEC delegates.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee addressed APEC delegates.
APEC Energy Ministers’ Dinner
NCAPEC supported a private sector hosted dinner to welcome APEC Energy Ministers. The private sector voiced their support for the APEC Energy Ministerial themes of supporting a just energy transition, decarbonization of the power sector, advancing methane abatement policies and practices, and public-private partnerships.
The Seattle Host Committee flag raising ceremony to fly the United States’ APEC 2023 flag on the iconic Space Needle
Key APEC Seattle leaders raised the flag including (from left to right), Monica Whaley President of the National Center for APEC, Brian Surratt President and CEO of Greater Seattle Partners, Nora Todd, 2023 APEC Alternate Chair of the Senior Officials’ Meeting and Chief of Staff to the U.S. Trade Representative, Mike Pyle, Deputy National Security Advisor and 2023 Chair of the Senior Officials’ Meeting, Ambassador Matt Murray, U.S. Senior Official for APEC, Sam Cho, Commission President for the Port of Seattle, Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, and Christine Gregoire, former Washington governor from 2005-2013.
APEC Senior Official hoisted the APEC USA flag on the Seattle Space Needle during the third APEC Senior Officials Meeting cluster.
Seattle, USA. 15 Aug, 2023. Just after 6:00pm business leaders raise the APEC flag at the Seattle Space Needle. James Anderson/Alamy Live News
A visit to Blake Island, the Inaugural APEC Leaders’ Summit Location in 1993
The United States organized an evening cruise for APEC Senior Officials and delegates to see historic APEC Seattle sites. Attendees sailed by the Native American-style long house on Blake Island, a state park in the Puget Sound, and reflected on its significance as the site of the inaugural APEC Leaders’ Summit in 1993. APEC Secretariat Executive Director, Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, and ABAC USA Member, Ginger Lew, are pictured near the Puget Sound.
