APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting 2016
The 24th Meeting of the Economic Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Lima, Peru was held 19–20 November 2016. This year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting theme is “Quality Growth and Human Capital Development: A Foundation for Sustainable Growth in the Asia-Pacific.”
Four priority areas were laid out as topics for discussion for the 2016 APEC summit:
- Human Capital Development
- Upgrading Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- Regional Food Market
- Regional Economic Integration Agenda
These subjects were chosen built upon discussions during the APEC summit in the Philippines in 2015.
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) was held from 19–20 November 2016 at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru.
Prior to the Economic Leaders’ Meeting, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha decided not to attend in the occasion citing their attendance to address their own domestic issues such as the North Korean nuclear program, as well the 2016 South Korean political scandal and the death and mourning of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, respectively.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo also did not attend the summit for the second time consecutively and was again replaced by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, agreeing that Widodo would only attend larger global scale conferences while Kalla would attend smaller regional scale conferences like APEC.
This was the first APEC meeting for Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang inaugurated on 2 April 2016; Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on 30 June 2016 and the host, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on 28 July 2016.
It was also be the last APEC meeting for United States President Barack Obama who will leave office on January 20, 2017.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was in attendance as invited guest. The Pacific Alliance member states: Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia will hold a separate summit with APEC leaders.
Some leaders met in separate bilateral meetings. The meeting’s host, Peruvian President Pedro Kuczynski, also hosted state visits at the Government Palace for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had bilateral meetings with the leaders from China, Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam. He also held bilateral meeting with Kuczynski.
South Korean Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Kuczynski.
U.S. President Barack Obama held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On a sideline meeting about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), President Barack Obama briefed leaders of signatory states about the status of the treaty, and its support by the US Congress and businessmen. A consensus was reach that the TPP must be realized and will only look for an alternative if the United States later decides not to take part. There were concerns due to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s opposition to the deal. It is reported that if either Japan or the United States back out the treaty won’t push through. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key proposed making “cosmetic changes” to make the deal more acceptable to Trump.
APEC nations account for 57% of global GDP, for 48% of global trade, and 40% of the global population.1 ●