KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will gather in South Korea at the end of October for the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, a pivotal moment as the region continues to navigate uncertainty in the global economy.
It will convene the leaders of APEC’s 21 member economies, including the United States (US) and China, underscoring APEC’s role as a platform for dialogue, cooperation, and practical solutions to shared challenges.
The APEC Secretariat said that recent announcements of high-level bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the meeting highlighted the significance that economies attach to APEC as a venue for constructive exchange
"The US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would meet President Xi Jinping at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in South Korea demonstrates the value of APEC as a platform for dialogue.
"The usefulness of APEC is further shown by the forum’s ability to reach consensus in challenging areas, including trade and the digital economy under South Korea’s leadership," said its executive director Eduardo Pedrosa in a statement today.
The Leaders’ Meeting would take place under South Korea’s host year’s theme, "Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper".
It would be preceded by the APEC Ministerial Meeting — bringing together the forum’s Foreign and Trade Ministers — along with the concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting, marking a week of important gatherings in Gyeongju from October 27 to November 1.
“We are seeing a moderation in trade across the Asia-Pacific, with exports expected to grow modestly this year after last year’s strong performance.
"Sustaining momentum will depend on reducing policy uncertainty by giving clear signals to the business community, including those in digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled sectors," said APEC Policy Support Unit director Carlos Kuriyama.
He added that APEC offers a forum where economies could collaborate on structural reforms, such as digital skills development, and adaptive economic policy, and the Leaders’ Meeting in South Korea provides a critical opportunity to deepen that cooperation and unlock more inclusive, resilient growth.
The gathering in South Korea would cap a year of intensive policy discussions and initiatives across APEC, ranging from advancing digital and AI cooperation to addressing demographic change.
The secretariat said that leaders are expected to chart pathways to deliver on the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 and its implementation plan, the Aotearoa Plan of Action.
