20 December 2013 - The Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations (DFA-OUIER), in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Technical Assistance Training Facility (APEC-TATF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), held a workshop entitled, “APEC Capacity Building Workshop: Supporting the Philippines 2015 Host Year,” from December 12 to 13 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Manila.
The workshop focused mainly on awareness-building on the APEC process, the scope of its work and the benefits that can be gained from APEC membership. Representatives from former APEC-host economies, such as Peru (2008), the United States (2011) and Indonesia (2012), also shared their experiences in organizing APEC events.
In addition to increasing awareness, the workshop was designed to help equip working level officials to maximize their participation in APEC meetings and to further develop their skills in conducting APEC meetings in preparation for the Philippines’ host year. In support of these objectives, participants were given small group activities that involved analyzing and resolving an issue within the APEC context and presenting findings in plenary.
In her opening remarks, APEC National Secretariat Director-General and DFA Undersecretary Laura Q. Del Rosario said that the workshop will “help us learn how to put our agenda forward when we host in 2014.” She also reminded participants that the Philippine priorities should be “running in tandem or congruent with the objectives of APEC and specifically the Bogor goals.”
Over 100 participants from various government agencies attended the event. Among the resource speakers were Dr. Alan Bollard, APEC Secretariat Executive Director; Eduardo Pedrosa, Secretary General, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council; Peruvian Ambassador to Australia Luis Quesada; Ambassador Antonio Basilio, former APEC Senior Official for the Philippines and current APEC Business Advisory Council Executive Director; Dede Achmad Rifai, Deputy Director for APEC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Indonesia; and representatives from the APEC Secretariat and the US Department of State.
APEC is an intergovernmental grouping currently composed of 21 member economies. Commitments made within APEC are non-binding and voluntary. APEC focuses on three key areas: Trade and Investment Liberalisation, Business Facilitation, and Economic and Technical Cooperation. In 2008, the US launched APEC TATF to support the APEC Secretariat in a variety of forms, including capacity- building and training.
The Philippines last hosted APEC in 1996. END
