- Third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings to be Held -

1. The third Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM3) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2025 are scheduled to be held in Incheon from Saturday, July 26 to Friday, August 15, 2025.  

2. SOM3, typically held in the second half of the year, serves as a strategically important milestone in the annual APEC process. It offers an opportunity to review the progress made on workplans and initiatives pursued by various working groups earlier in the year and to engage in final consultations aimed at achieving concrete deliverables at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in late October. During SOM3, over 200 working-level meetings, workshops and side events will take place, including meetings of APEC’s four major committees -- the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI), the SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE), the Economic Committee (EC), and the Budget and Management Committee (BMC). The meetings are expected to draw more than 4,500 delegates from APEC member economies and the APEC Secretariat to Incheon.

3. In addition, in the upcoming meetings to be held during SOM3, discussions will be held among APEC member economies on key deliverables of the Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the year, including “artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation” and “response to demographic changes.” Reflecting APEC’s longstanding practice of engaging and partnering with the private sector, public-private dialogues on AI and demographic changes will convene on August 11–12. These sessions will provide a valuable opportunity to hear insights directly from experts and business leaders of Korea and other APEC economies and to share Korea’s policy experiences in areas such as AI and demographic changes including declining birth rates and population aging.

4. During SOM 3, sectoral ministerial meetings, such as the Digital & AI Ministerial Meeting, the Food Security Ministerial Meeting, the Women and the Economy Forum, and the High-Level Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Cooperation, will also convene. A variety of events with private sector participation will be held as well. In addition, the Senior Disaster Management Officials’ Forum will take place, aiming to explore ways for regional cooperation in responding to natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes across the Asia-Pacific region.

*▴Digital & AI Ministerial Meeting (DMM) (August 4-6) ▴Food Security Ministerial Meeting (FSMM) (August 9-10) ▴Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) (August 12) ▴High-Level Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Cooperation (AHDAC) (July 31-August 1)

※ Sectoral ministerial meetings to come in the second half of 2025

▴Energy Ministerial Meeting (EMM) (August 27–28, Busan) ▴SME Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM) (September 1–5, Jeju) ▴High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (HLMHE) (September 15–16, Seoul) ▴Finance Ministerial Meeting (FMM) (October 21–22, Incheon) ▴Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) (October 22–23, Incheon) ▴High-Level Dialogue on the Cultural and Creative Industries (HLD-CCI) (August 26–28)

5. Ahead of SOM3, the Korean government held an inter-agency meeting on Monday, July 21, presided by Ambassador Yoon Seongmee, Chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting, to review the progress in preparations for the various APEC sub-fora and sectoral ministerial meetings. The Korean government is committed to making thorough preparations to ensure that the  discussions at the third Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings, as well as the APEC deliverables developed thus far, are reported on at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in October and thereby establish a meaningful and lasting legacy for APEC 2025.