- Ministry of Foreign Affairs Signs Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Establish the “APEC Sub-Fund on Prosperity of Future Generations” -

1. On August 11, on the occasion of the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) taking place in Incheon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the APEC Secretariat to establish the APEC Sub-Fund on Prosperity of Future Generations.

2. The MOU was signed by Lee Jiyoon, Korea’s APEC Senior Official, and Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, in the presence of Ambassador Yoon Seong-mee, Chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM).

3. Korea, as this year’s APEC host economy, has taken the lead in establishing the fund as one of its key deliverables. The creation of the fund was approved unanimously by all 21 APEC member economies at the Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) in May.

4. The Putrajaya Vision 2040, which outlines APEC’s long-term vision for the next 20 years, envisions an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community that promotes prosperity for all people and future generations by 2040. However, there was a lack of dedicated APEC funding to support the youth, the key stakeholders essential to realizing this vision.

5. In this context, the fund targets youth aged 18 to 34 within the region, with the primary goals of promoting capacity building and expanding economic participation of youth. It will support a wide range of youth-focused initiatives by APEC member economies, centered on five priority areas*:

* ① Knowledge exchange among young professionals in education, science, and policy-making; ② Capacity building for young professionals in emerging digital technologies such as AI, cloud computing, big data, and advanced manufacturing; ③ Policy research addressing key youth issues related to demographic changes and environmental challenges; ④ Support for youth-driven start-ups, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through practical training and mentorship; ⑤ Capacity building programs to enhance technical skills aimed at promoting youth employment.

6. Following the signing of this MOU, the Korean government plans to provide an initial contribution of USD 1 million to the APEC Secretariat. The fund is expected to be actively utilized starting in the first half of next year.

7. The Korean government expects that the fund’s initiatives will strengthen youth capabilities and exchanges across APEC, ultimately serving as a foundation for inclusive growth and shared prosperity across the Asia-Pacific region.