19 June 2015 – The Philippines, as APEC 2015 Chair, will host the Third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM3) from August 22 to September 06 in Cebu.

APEC Committees and Working Groups will meet again to discuss issues on trade and investment, services, counter-terrorism, automotive and chemical regulation, mining, illegal logging, intellectual property, customs procedures, standards and conformance, anti-corruption, electronic commerce, health and life sciences, disability issues, business mobility, and market access. A series of exhibits, workshops, and special events, including the Fifth High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy, and the Symposium on Urbanization, are also lined up in the SOM3 schedule.

As the last comprehensive Senior Officials’ Meeting before the APEC Leaders’ Summit in November, SOM3 will have an intensive 16-day meeting schedule. Committees and Working Groups are expected to continue discussions and initiatives from SOM2, such as APEC’s connectivity, services and MSME agenda, Internet economy, urbanization, and work towards the realization of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

Immediately after SOM3, the Philippines will also host the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) on September 07-08, and the Finance Ministerial Meeting (FMM) on September 10-11. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Finance (DOF) will lead the SRMM and FMM, respectively. Both minister-level meetings will be held in Cebu. END