APEC 2021
Hosted by New Zealand
Formed in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an annual consensus-based forum in which delegates, Ministers and Leaders from the 21 member economies come together to discuss how to overcome the biggest issues facing the Asia-Pacific. The Cooperation comprises hundreds of meetings throughout the year, diving into topics such as advancing trade, food security and inclusivity, among others. In 2021, New Zealand hosted the forum virtually for the first time ever.
In 2021, APEC trade ministers committed to speeding up the cross-border flow of COVID-19 vaccines, rejuvenate the World Trade Organisation and called for world first action on services to support the movement of essential goods.
APEC agriculture and food security ministers endorsed a Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030, which aims to boost food security both now and for the years to come. The Roadmap identifies four key areas to work on - digitalisation, productivity, inclusivity and sustainability - to assist the nearly 2.37 billion people that the World Bank estimated lacked access to adequate food in 2020.
Further to this, under New Zealand's leadership, APEC has laid the groundwork for a voluntary standstill on fossil fuel subsidies and committed to ensuring economic inclusivity with a particular focus on indigenous communities.
In November 2021, New Zealand hosted an online APEC Voices of the Future - bringing together youth delegates from across the Asia-Pacific to share their thoughts, opinions and ideas on how to combat the big issues we face today. The youth delegates worked together to write a Youth Declaration, which was put forward to APEC leaders.