On August 14-15, 2023, the United States, as the APEC 2023 host, organized the APEC Economic Committee (EC) Meeting 2/2023, which was part of the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) held from July 29 to August 21, 2023, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Mr. Wanchat Suwankitti, Deputy Secretary-General of NESDC, led the Thai delegation in attending the Economic Committee meeting and related meetings. The meeting discussed the following key issues:
1. Economic Committee (EC) Meeting 2/2023
The EC meeting was held to discuss economic cooperation and advance the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR) to promote economic development in the APEC region. APEC economies discussed various matters, including:
1.1 Endorsement of the EAASR Mid-Term Review Meeting outcomes, which highlighted progress in the region’s structural reforms regarding access to quality basic services and investment facilitation. The meeting also discussed ways to enhance cooperation to drive structural reforms in Industry 4.0, service trade, gender equality, and future implementation through various EC framework activities.
1.2 Monitoring the implementation of policy recommendations from the APEC Economic Policy Report 2022 (2022 AEPR), which focused on structural reform for green recovery. The NESDC Deputy Secretary-General reported Thailand’s progress, including the integration of the BCG Economy concept into the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan and capacity building through the Country Programme Phase 2 between Thailand and the OECD.
1.3 Review of the draft APEC Economic Policy Report 2023 (2023 AEPR) titled “Structural Reform and an Enabling Environment for Sustainable Business for Inclusive, Resilient, and Sustainable Business.” Thailand’s NESDC and the United States co-led the report’s working group, which developed policy recommendations including approaches to enhance environments conducive to innovative, resilient, and sustainable business operations, and guidelines for statistical data collection for policy design. The NESDC Deputy Secretary-General thanked all working group members for their contributions to the 2023 AEPR and emphasized its importance as a foundation for driving EAASR, structural reforms focusing on innovation, climate change, and inclusivity, and achieving the Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy. The meeting congratulated Thailand on successfully drafting the 2023 AEPR and expressed commitment to utilizing it for future EC activities and implementation across economic zones.
1.4 Report on the 15th Good Regulatory Practice (GRP15) meeting, hosted by NESDC in 2022. The NESDC representative presented policy recommendations, including encouraging economies to utilize digital technology for regulatory improvement and integrating international regulatory cooperation. Additionally, the NESDC representative reported on GRP15’s success, noting increased participant understanding of GRP and implementation of policy recommendations.
1.5 Advancing future activities of the Friend of the Chair group and APEC cross-fora cooperation, using the EAASR Mid-Term Review Meeting and 2023 AEPR as foundations for future progress.
2. Related Meetings
NESDC representatives participated in related discussions and knowledge exchanges, including: (1) Meetings on “Efforts to Promote Economic Opportunity and Inclusion: a Case Study on Indigenous Peoples” and “Increasing Access to the Benefits of Trade for Indigenous Businesses and Entrepreneurs” to study structural reform policies and trade promotion for indigenous participation; (2) The 16th Good Regulatory Practices (GRP16) meeting to study best practices in regulatory reform measures, international standards implementation, and innovative practices in green and digital economies to support economic growth, trade, and investment; and (3) The “APEC Workshop on Gender and Structural Reform: Inclusive Access to Credit and Financial Services” to study structural reforms supporting women’s access to credit and financial services for economic stimulation.
For more information, please visit the APEC Secretariat website at www.apec.org
News: International Strategy and Cooperation Bureau
Photo: APEC Secretariat (Credit: APEC Secretariat)
