1. Senior officials of the member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) attended the 2023 APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) held in Honolulu, the U.S., on December 7–9 to evaluate key APEC achievements in 2022 and discuss the direction of their activities in 2023.

2. The U.S., the APEC chair of 2023, announced that "Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All" had been selected as the theme of the 2023 APEC, and △ Interconnected, △Innovative, and △Inclusive as key agenda items.

° Specific tasks for each key agenda item include (a) (Interconnected) strengthening supply chain resilience, service trade and cross-border travel; (b) (Innovative) climate mitigation and improvement of climate resilience, promotion of digital economy and digitalization as well as food security, and response to marine and other environmental challenges; and (c) (Inclusive) promotion of engagement including participation of many trade stakeholders, promotion of gender equality including through women's empowerment, enhancement of capabilities of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and promotion of workers' rights.

3. The senior officials at the meeting took note that this year's APEC Leaders’ Meeting held last month in Bangkok had made significant achievements, including the adoption of a Leaders’ Declaration and the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circulation-Green (BCG) Economy, adding that the adoption of the Bangkok Goals set an important milestone in APEC’s efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.

4. Sarah Ahn, Director-General of the International Economic Bureau of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that with regard to the theme and key agenda items of the 2023 APEC, Korea expects to see more discussions on supply chain resilience, digital economy, and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), and relayed Korea’s willingness to contribute.

° Also, on the sustainability agenda, she emphasized the importance of APEC cooperation to comprehensively address all environmental challenges, adding that Korea would continue working on such projects as the SME Low Carbon Ecosystem Forum the country hosted this year, while actively working with APEC to cope with such marine debris as plastic as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries.

5. The meeting is seen to have served as an opportunity for the U.S., which will take the helm of APEC for the first time in 12 years since 2011, to demonstrate its leadership for economic recovery and inclusive and sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region, and for the APEC member economies to reaffirm their commitment to cooperation and set directions for APEC activities for next year.