Good afternoon. It is my great pleasure to warmly welcome all of you.

I wish to thank, in particular, the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, for traveling all the way from Singapore to grace us with her presence.

I also thank the representatives of the APEC Troika Ambassador Paul Parodi of Peru and Ms. Joy Sakurai, Charg d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy.

APEC occupies a very special place in the annals of Korea’s foreign policy. After all, it was in Seoul, in January 1989, that the concept of APEC was first proposed by then-Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke in a speech to Korean business leaders.
Not only has Korea been a founding member of APEC since its inaugural Ministerial Meeting in Canberra in 1989, but Korea’s participation in APEC has also coincided with Korea’s first serious aspiration to contribute in a globalized world.

Today, APEC has emerged as the largest economic cooperation forum aimed at fostering economic prosperity and sustainable growth, both regionally and globally. Over the past three decades, APEC has grown to encompass more than 60% of the world’s GDP and 50% of global trade volume.

Throughout those three decades, Korea has sought to play a crucial role in every phase of APEC’s development.

In 1991, Korea hosted the third APEC Ministerial Meeting, where the Seoul Declaration was adopted, laying an important institutional foundation for APEC.

In 2005, we convened the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Busan. During this meeting, APEC conducted a mid-term review of our progress towards the Bogor Goals for free and open trade and investment, culminating in the adoption of the Busan Roadmap to the Bogor Goals.

We are delighted to be able to assume the role of APEC Chair once again next year. As a matter of fact, it was I myself that represented Korea, as Vice Foreign Minister, at the Ministerial Meeting in which Korea was chosen to host APEC 2025. APEC Korea 2025 will bring us closer to realizing APEC’s overarching goals and vision.

The Preparatory Office for APEC 2025 was inaugurated earlier this year to begin preparations for the forthcoming year.

We are currently in the process of selecting the host city for the Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

Once the host city is chosen, we will be devising a Master Plan that includes specific arrangements for sectoral Ministerial Meetings and SOM cluster meetings as well as plans to welcome member economies, business leaders, media, and others.

Preparations to ensure a productive and meaningful APEC 2025 will be a whole-of-government endeavor covering all
relevant government agencies. It will also be a collaborative effort with the APEC Secretariat, the APEC Troika, and all other APEC member economies. So we look to all of you for your active and unwavering support.

Finally, I wish to thank the APEC team for their professionalism and dedication to ensuring the success of next year’s APEC.

Thank you very much.