1. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Extraordinary Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held in the form of video conference from 20:00, May 27, to 01:00, May 28 (Korea Standard Time), to discuss ways for the region to cooperate on COVID-19 response. The delegation of the Republic of Korea to the meeting was led by LEE Seong-ho, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

o The meeting took place as a follow-up to the Statement by APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade adopted on May 5, in which the Ministers directed Senior Officials to share policy information to respond to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and to draw up measures to work together.

2. In the meeting, the member Economies concretized the initiative for regional information-sharing platform, aimed at sharing each Economy’s policies and measures in responding to COVID-19, including a stimulus package for economic recovery; agreed to come up with practical measures to facilitate the supply of essential goods and services, including medical supplies; and agreed to strengthen the digital economy agenda to alleviate the impact of the global pandemic through innovative means.

o Regarding ensuring the continuation of essential travel, the ROK side said that flows in global supply chains should be guaranteed, and particularly stressed the importance of facilitating essential movement of business people that plays a big role in reviving demand.

o The ROK side also mentioned that export restrictive measures should be temporary and transparent in order to promote trade in COVID-19-related necessities.

o In a discussion on APEC’s key priorities on post COVID-19, the ROK side emphasized the importance of the digital economy, and asked for the member Economies’ interest in and contribution to the Digital Innovation Fund, created at the initiative of the ROK.

3. In addition, the participating member Economies agreed to continue to discuss the “Post-2020 Vision,” which will set out the way forward for APEC after the 1994 Bogor Goals, and closely consult on the schedule for future meetings, including the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for November, keeping a watch on the situation regarding the spread of COVID-19.

4. The meeting served as an opportunity to maintain the momentum of cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 crisis by seeking to create a platform in the Asia-Pacific for sharing various information and experiences regarding COVID-19 response amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and by making a commitment to conduct activities promoting trade and investment liberalization in the region.