-APEC Sub-Fund on Prosperity of Future Generations Endorsed-

  The Second Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC SOM2), are currently being held in Jeju from Saturday, May 3 to Wednesday, May 16. More than 3,000 participants, comprising representatives from APEC’s 21 member economies, official observers, and the APEC Secretariat, convened in Jeju to participate in over ten key meetings, including the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) as well as the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) and the SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH (SCE), to explore avenues for enhanced regional collaboration.

※ As the leading economic cooperation forum in the Asia-Pacific region, APEC brings together 21 member economies, including Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and the Russian Federation, to promote sustainable growth, regional integration, and shared prosperity.

※ The Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) serves as a high-level consultative body where APEC member economies discuss matters of cooperation. It convenes four official meetings and one informal meeting each year, with the outcomes reported to the APEC Ministerial Meeting and APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

    - Korea is represented by Lee Jiyoon, Deputy Director-General for International Economic Affairs at the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in her capacity as Korea’s Senior Official.

   Notably, during SOM2, all 21 APEC member economies endorsed the establishment of the APEC “Sub-Fund on Prosperity of Future Generations,” which aims to support young professionals’ participation in the economy and capacity building, recognizing the young generation as key drivers in advancing this year’s APEC theme, “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow.” At the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Peru last November, Korea formally proposed the establishment of the “Sub-Fund on Prosperity of Future Generations” and pledged an initial contribution of USD 1 million to launch this initiative. The Fund is expected to support a wide array of projects, including: knowledge exchange among young professionals in education, science, and policy; capacity-building in emerging digital technologies such as ICT and artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, big data, and advanced manufacturing technologies; and the promotion of youth entrepreneurial ventures. In addition, it will provide support for policy research that responds to the needs and challenges facing the young generation such as issues related to demographic changes and environmental challenges. The Fund’s establishment will be finalized upon completion of the remaining administrative procedures within APEC.

   Furthermore, Korea presented the key elements of its key deliverables for APEC 2025, namely “APEC AI Initiative” and “The Collaborative Framework for Demographic Changes in the APEC Community” during SOM2 and various sub-fora meetings. These elements are expected to serve as the basis for the outcome documents of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting later this year.

   The proposed “APEC AI Initiative” aims to harness AI to accelerate economic transformation, foster resilient growth, drive technological advancement, and empower the workforce. This initiative envisions: providing strategic direction for successful AI transitions within APEC; building AI capacities across all sectors, including governments, businesses, workers, and consumers; and promoting a sustainable and robust ecosystem for AI-related infrastructure investment.

   The proposed “The Collaborative Framework for Demographic Changes in the APEC Community” seeks to address population trends such as declining birth rates and population aging, which are shared challenges across the Asia-Pacific region. This initiative aims to turn these demographic challenges into opportunities for future growth and innovation by: promoting sustainable systems to support aging societies; fostering medical and technological innovation; and enhancing economic participation for women.

  In conjunction with SOM2, a series of ministerial meetings were also held, including the Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting (HRDMM) (May 11–13), the APEC Education Ministerial Meeting (May 13–15), and the Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting (May 15–16). At the HRDMM, a Joint Statement was adopted, outlining shared commitments to building sustainable labor markets and jobs for the future.

  On the sidelines of SOM2, Korea held bilateral consultations with Senior Officials from China, Peru, Australia, the Russian Federation, and Chinese Taipei, engaging in broad discussions on key deliverables for APEC 2025 and agendas for ministerial meetings.

  The Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) is scheduled to take place in Incheon between July and August. Ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting later this year, eight sectoral ministerial meetings such as Digital & AI, Food Security, and Women and the Economy, along with two high-level dialogues, will be held as scheduled.