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Philippines set to host 3rd APEC senior officials' meeting

Xinhua, August 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Third APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM-III) and Related Meetings are set to kick off later this week in the central Philippine province of Cebu, a senior government official said Wednesday.

The meetings, to be held from Aug. 22 to Sept. 6, is expected to be participated by at least 2,000 delegates from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), according to the official.

The SOM-III will be the last comprehensive senior officials' meeting before the APEC Leaders' Summit in November, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Charles Jose said in a media briefing.

He noted that SOM-III will have an intensive 16-day meeting schedule, which includes meetings to finalize the APEC 2015 deliverables, as well as a host of workshops and public-private dialogues.

The SOM-III discussion also follows the template of the previous SOM meetings that centered on three core areas -- continuing the mandate of APEC 2014 to strengthen regional economic integration, connectivity and innovation; advancing the APEC 2015 priorities in pursuit of inclusive growth; and shaping a post-2015 vision for the Asia Pacific.

"In particular, SOM-III agenda follows from the outcomes of SOM- II last May in Boracay, where strengthening regional economic integration and fostering the participation of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in global markets were at the top of the agenda," he said.

In the Cebu meeting, senior officials will discuss the implementation plan for the Boracay action agenda for globalizing MSMEs, which was successfully endorsed by APEC trade ministers during their meeting last May.

At the same time, the SOM-III discussions will continue to monitor the first-year implementation of the APEC connectivity blueprint for improved physical, institutional, and people-to- people connectivity, as well as the next steps for the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP).

Senior officials are also expected to finalize the Philippine- led APEC services cooperation framework proposal, Jose said, noting that it aims to develop a long-term strategy to increase the region's competitiveness in services, trade, and investment.

As part of this thrust, Cebu will also host the inaugural meeting of the APEC Group of Friends on Disability, aimed at promoting mainstream participation of persons with disabilities in the economy, as well as the 5th APEC High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy on Aug. 30 and 31. Endi