KOREAN NET

The Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on Oct. 28 finished at Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

By Charles Audouin

Photos = Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM), the first event of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Week, concluded on Oct. 28 at Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

High-ranking officials including observer groups from the 21 APEC member economies and APEC Secretariat staff attended this meeting. They conducted a final review of this year's APEC agenda ahead of the two-day APEC Ministerial Meetings of diplomacy and trade chiefs starting on Oct. 29 and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted senior officials as saying this year's APEC talks proceeded smoothly and meaningfully. They highlighted "cooperation in artificial intelligence" and "response to demographic changes" presented by Seoul as key achievements and how these initiatives presented new directions for regional cooperation.

It added, "We agreed to continue close discussions until the very end so that those held so far can produce tangible results during the summit."

The APEC Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting was held from Oct. 27-28 at Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, to finalize key APEC agenda for the year.

Senior officials reviewed the annual activities of major APEC subsidiaries including the Committee on Trade and Investment, Economic Committee, SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation, Budget and Management Committee and Policy Support Unit.

They also approved the final report reviewing the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap, which sets the mid- to long-term direction of cooperation for the region's service sector and concrete goals and action plans to be achieved this year to raise service competitiveness.

The ministry said, "We also reaffirmed our shared commitment to successfully conclude negotiations on the draft of the summit's outcome document so that the event can bear fruit."

caudouin@korea.kr