PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. is skipping the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week in Lima in Peru scheduled on November 10 to 16 to focus more on efforts to address local issues and concerns including the impact of recent calamities.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO), in a Facebook post yesterday, said the President has named Acting Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque as special envoy to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week.
Marcos had attended APEC meetings since 2022.
Acting Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez, asked why Marcos is skipping the event, said it is to “prioritize domestic concerns, including government responses to calamities.”
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week will bring together leaders and other senior officials of 21 APEC member economies — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
This year’s event aims to find a new approach to economic cooperation agenda amid new challenges, among others.
In its website, APEC said this year’s event “is about consolidating a new approach to the forum’s economic cooperation agenda amidst the unprecedented challenges of today.
It said it will continue its “story of inclusion, sustainability and resilience that emphasizes the social dimension of economic growth and development — one that empowers the most vulnerable, harnesses digital opportunities, and gives a new impetus to economic growth.
“As regional economic integration continues to strengthen, APEC 2024 will position policies and initiatives through the prism of its inclusive growth strategy,” it added.
