Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Overview

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was established in 1989. Its primary purpose is to facilitate economic growth and prosperity in the region, with the vision of creating a seamless regional economy. APEC pursues these objectives through trade and investment liberalisation, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation.

APEC aims to strengthen regional economic integration by removing impediments to trade and investment “at the border”, enhancing supply chain connectivity "across the border" and improving the business environment "behind the border". It endeavours to improve the operating environment for business by reducing the cost of cross-border trade, improving access to trade information and simplifying regulatory and administrative processes. APEC also assists member economies build the institutional capacity to implement and take advantage of the benefits of trade and investment reform. APEC supports the multilateral trade negotiations underway in the WTO, and complements the goals of the G-20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Private sector engagement is central to APEC's success. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), established in 1995, represents the interests of business in APEC. ABAC is composed of up to three members from each of the 21 member economies, with business representatives appointed by APEC Leaders. The annual APEC CEO Summit and regular Industry Dialogues also provide opportunities for regional business leaders to interact with APEC and address key issues affecting business in the region.

APEC operates on the basis of non-binding commitments and open dialogue. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.

The APEC Secretariat is based in Singapore. It provides coordination, technical and advisory support as well as information management, communications and public outreach services. The Secretariat is headed by a fixed-term Executive Director, appointed for a period of three years. The Secretariat is also home to the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU). The PSU assists APEC's deliberations by providing research, analysis and policy support. More information on APEC, including its structure, committees and activities, can be found on APEC's official website.

Contact us

  • Email: AustraliaAPEC@dfat.gov.au
  • Phone: +61 2 6261 1111
  • Mail:
    APEC Branch, Trade and Economic Policy Division
    Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
    R.G. Casey Building
    John McEwen Crescent
    Barton, ACT, 0221 Australia

APEC members

World map showing APEC member countries highlighted The Republic of the Philippines Canada Australia Japan Indonesia Peru Chinese Taipei Mexico The Russian Federation Thailand United States of America Hong Kong, China Papua New Guinea Chile Thailand Republic of Korea Malaysia People's Republic of China New Zealand

APEC has 21 member economies:

The Russian Federation hosted APEC in 2012. Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Peru will host APEC in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Australia in APEC

Australia was a founding member of the APEC forum in 1989 and has been active in helping APEC achieve its current status. Australia has helped advance APEC's core work streams of regional economic integration, structural reform and targeted capacity building through its involvement across more than 30 APEC forums (including committees, working groups and sub-forums). Australia played host to APEC in 2007.

APEC makes an important contribution to the promotion of open trade and investment, economic development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and Australia has benefited from APEC's dynamism. Significant progress has been made by Australia and the region towards achieving the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2020. APEC's 21 member economies account for over half of global GDP and are home to more than 2.7 billion people. APEC partners account for over two-thirds of Australia's total trade in goods and services.

Publication: The APEC Region, Trade and Investment

Upcoming APEC meetings

Date Location Type of meeting
6-7 Dec 2012 Jakarta, Java Informal Senior Officials Meeting (SOM)
24 Jan – 8 Feb 2013 Jakarta, Java SOM 1 and related Meetings
19-20 Feb 2013 Jakarta, Java Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting
6-19 Apr 2013 Solo or Surabaya, Java SOM 2 and related Meetings
20-21 Apr 2013 Solo or Surabaya, Java Ministers Responsible for Trade
22-23 May 2013 Manado, Sulawesi Senior Finance Officials Meeting
22 Jun-6 Jul 2013 Medan, Sumatra SOM 3 and related Meetings, 22 June‐6 July 2013
6-8 Sept 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial
6-8 Sept 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali High Level Policy Dialogue on Women in theEconomy
17-19 Sept 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali Senior Finance Officials and Finance and CentralBank Deputies
17-20 Sept 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali Finance Minister’s Meeting
1-8 Oct 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali APEC Economic Leaders‘ Week
-Concluding Senior Officials Meeting
-APEC Ministers Meeting
-APEC Economic Leaders meeting
-APEC CEO Summit

A full calendar of APEC events is available on APEC's official website.

Declarations and statements by APEC leaders and ministers

Minister for Trade and Competitiveness Press Releases

Minister for Trade and Competitiveness Speeches

Publications

Resources