Quarterly Newsletter

NCAPEC concluded its four-part series, Beyond Bogor: Exploring APEC’s Next Chapter, with a session on sustainable and inclusive growth. The series attracted a diverse, live audience from across the APEC region, with 18 of 21 APEC economies represented and strong participation from both U.S. and foreign government officials. NCAPEC would like to thank series sponsors – FedEx, Google, Microsoft, Moody’s, PayPal, Pfizer, Qualcomm and UL for their support.

The entire series can be viewed here: https://ncapec.org/beyond-bogor-exploring-apecs-next-chapter/

APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) members from New Zealand hosted the first of four meetings in 2021 on February 8 (U.S.). Under the theme of “People, Place, Prosperity,” ABAC reorganized this year to best leverage its fully virtual meeting format. The new structure comprises 16 task forces organized under the following five working groups:

Regional Economic Integration
Sustainability
Inclusion
Digital
Economy

During ABAC 1, members prioritized task force objectives and finalized the 2021 workplan. ABAC USA will continue to create opportunities for private sector engagement and advancement of NCAPEC’s policy recommendations.

In early March, ABAC members and APEC Senior Officials gathered virtually to discuss key areas of consideration within the pillars of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 (trade and investment, innovation and digitalization, and strong, balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth). The views shared by ABAC members will inform Senior Officials’ efforts to craft an implementation plan for the Vision.

New Zealand held its first series of Senior Officials and related meetings on Microsoft Teams from February 18 to March 12. Under the theme of Join, Work, Grow. Together, New Zealand is prioritizing the following areas:

Economic and trade policies that strengthen recovery, with a focus on the right macroeconomic, microeconomic and trade policy choices;
Increasing inclusion and sustainability for recovery by building a better society for all people and generating a green recovery; and
Pursuing innovation and a digitally enabled recovery by accelerating the APEC region’s work in these areas.

As chair for APEC 2021 New Zealand inherited the duty of leading the drafting of the implementation plan for the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 which replaces the Bogor Goals as a joint declaration that will guide APEC’s work over the long-term. The implementation plan will be developed during the next nine months and will be a prominent deliverable for November’s APEC Leaders’ Meeting. ABAC will be providing input on the development of the implementation plan throughout the year.

New Zealand is also picking up the role of leading APEC’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Critical elements of APEC’s work in this area include facilitating trade in essential goods, identifying how APEC can facilitate vaccine distribution, and reopening borders to travel.

As the Biden administration develops its strategy for economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. based Center for Strategic and International Studies has published two articles that highlight potential roles for APEC, including a call for the U.S. to host in 2023.