KOREAN NET

Member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting on Oct. 21 unanimously adopted the Incheon Plan on the direction of regional economic cooperation for the next five years. Shown is Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon Cheol that day giving the opening speech at the plenary session of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Finance and Structural Reform at Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon's Jung-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

The 21 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) at the 32nd APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting on Oct. 21 unanimously adopted a joint statement and the Incheon Plan, which set the direction of regional economic cooperation for the next five years.

The plan outlines key themes and sub-agenda to be handled by the meeting over the next five years including innovation, finance, fiscal policy, and accessibility and opportunity for all. This is the second phase of implementation after the Cebu Action Plan adopted in 2015 in the Philippine province of Cebu.

Korea was the first to present artificial intelligence (AI) as a key agenda at the event and had the agreement include the need for cooperation in the development of AI-based infrastructure and personnel, collaboration in the private sector and support for the AI ecosystem.

Seoul also led talks to ensure that its policy direction was aligned well with future economic discussions of APEC including those on expanding research and development; supporting smaller business financing; streamlining capital markets, and using finance to support economic growth.

The forum on financial inclusion, a topic discussed sporadically in the meeting, was expanded and led to an agreement to make "accessibility and opportunities for all" a separate topic of the Incheon Plan.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said, "In the rapidly changing global order amid the trade policies of key economies and the competition for AI hegemony, APEC reaffirmed its role as a venue for discussion reconfirming the importance of policy coordination and regional cooperation through dialogue and mutual respect."

Korea hosted the finance ministers' meeting for the first time since 2005. Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon Cheol also held a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from key countries including Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Hong Kong on economic cooperation and global economic trends.

dlektha0319@korea.kr