By PBEC Executive Director – December 2024 DECEMBER 2024: A PBEC update on APEC 2025 agenda hosted by South Korea: Korea launched its chairmanship of APEC 2025, the first time in two decades that the nation is hosting the global forum, on Monday 11th December 2024 with the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) Symposium held in Seoul against a backdrop of political uncertainty over the past week. The symposium, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, set the stage…
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The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced plans today with regard to launching the Korea-ASEAN Trade and Economic Think Tank Dialogue (“Dialogue”), proposed by Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during the 25th Korea-ASEAN Summit held on October 10 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The Dialogue was first proposed as a concrete joint project on the occasion of the bilateral Korea-ASEAN diplomatic relations advancing to a comprehensive strategic partnership in commemoration of this year marking…
By Toyota Material Handling The world of logistics is going through a considerable transformation. There are significant ongoing changes in the business landscape, a mindshift in the general population altering social behaviour, new technologies, and radical developments in logistics – all presenting both threats and opportunities to players in the logistics sector. PBEC is delighted to share the Trends in Logistics Report 2024 which provides a high-level overview of the key trends that we believe are currently most urgent and…
Originally published in The Straits Times – courtesy of the Lowry Institute The recent Quad summit was something of a victory lap for President Joe Biden’s Asia strategy. Yet the success of the Biden administration’s approach to deepening ties with a small group of capable partners has also been its limitation. The three Quad partners together accounted for nearly 40 per cent of US high-level diplomatic activity in the Indo-Pacific, tracked by the Lowy Institute for the 2024 edition of…
Next month in November 2024, business leaders and Government officials from across the globe will converge on Lima, Peru, to address the challenges and opportunities that will shape the future of the Asia-Pacific region. This gathering comes at a critical juncture, as the world sees rising fragmentation, protectionism and strong signs of a climate crisis. Peru, with its unique blend of biodiversity and economic dynamism, provides an ideal backdrop for such a vital dialogue. Given the importance of youth engagement…
World leaders adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. The most wide-ranging international agreement in many years, covering entirely new areas as well as issues on which agreement has not been possible in decades, the Pact aims above all to ensure that international institutions can deliver in the face of a world that has changed dramatically since they were created. Read more here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2024/09/press-release-sotf-2024/
Addressing Scope 3 emission disclosures are integral towards achieving organizational and regional sustainability goals The report highlights a lack of Scope 3 emissions disclosures in Asia Pacific, as they typically occur outside of an organization’s direct control – compared to Scope 1 and 2 emissions Lack of awareness and focus on downstream Scope 3 emissions within organizational supply chains in the region, with organizations generally focused on upstream emissions due to greater control and influence Need to uncover how to…
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) concluded its meeting in Tokyo this week, calling for decisive action to boost trade, digitalization and climate response. “Tackling trade and investment barriers, promoting digitalization and accelerating the climate response is urgent. We can’t wait any longer” said Julia Torreblanca, the 2024 Chair of ABAC. In that regard, Torreblanca announced that ABAC has finalized its recommendations for APEC Leaders addressing these challenges, under its’ theme for this year, ‘People, Business, and Prosperity,’ to be…
5The Pacific Basin Economic Council Vision outlined for 2024-2027 ahead of its AGM 2024 – by Michael Walsh CEO PBEC – June 2024 Collaboration as a mission, to create value, innovation and new opportunities for growth through free and open digitally enabled cross border Trade in APAC Hello PBEC members, colleagues and followers. It’s a pleasure to share the latest mission and vision of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) for the next three years- an organization that has been…
A perspective from the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) on the potential benefits for Hong Kong businesses in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade area should its current application be finally approved: The Pacific Basin Economic Council views Hong Kong’s application to join RCEP as a positive development that could deliver significant economic benefits for Hong Kong businesses. As an export-oriented economy with deep trade linkages across the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong’s membership in RCEP makes strategic sense….