APEC's First Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM1) was held from February 27-28, 2023. The meeting focused on the topics of "APEC 2023 Cross-Cutting Scene-setter", "Interconnected", "Innovative and Inclusive", and "APEC Governance." Mr. William Liu, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, delivered our comments on the topic of "Interconnected."

Mr. William Liu stated that the APEC region has gradually recovered from the pandemic, but still faces many risks in 2023 such as inflation, high interest rates etc. Amid this uncertain international economic environment, APEC economies should not only formulate clear and coordinated policies, but also advance regional economic prosperity by strengthening supply chain resilience, promoting digital trade, fostering regional economic integration, and supporting the multilateral trading system. We are willing to proactively implement the ministers’decisions and instructions reached during the WTO MC12 with all APEC economies and support advancing the goal of APEC regional economic integration through the implementation of the FTAAP agenda work plan. We welcome and support the themes and priority areas set by the United States for this year's APEC meeting and willing to work closely with the United States and all members to make this year's meeting fruitful.

(Photo source: APEC SOM1 Photo Gallery)