Gyeongju, South Korea—Trade and foreign ministers from the 21 APEC member economies reaffirmed their commitment to safeguard sustainable growth for the Asia-Pacific region during the APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held on October 29–30, 2025.
Convened ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM), the AMM centered on the APEC 2025 theme “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow Together.” The Republic of Korea, as this year’s APEC 2025 Chair, steered the discussion towards its three key priorities: “Connect,” “Innovate,” and “Prosper.”
APEC Ministers recognized the rapid transformational and structural changes shaping the region and called for stronger collaboration in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to drive sustainable economic growth.
Representing the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty co-led the delegation as the respective Foreign Minister and Alternate Minister Responsible for Trade.
Undersecretary Gepty, on behalf of DTI Secretary Cristina A. Roque, noted that “building resilient supply chains is now a prerequisite for stability, security, and inclusive growth.”
“The Philippines thus supports ongoing APEC work to strengthen supply chain resilience through innovation, promote trusted and interoperable digital ecosystems, and ensure that our collective initiatives contribute to the revitalization of the multilateral trading system,” Undersecretary Gepty added.
The AMM, which is the culmination of all sectoral ministerial meetings held throughout the APEC year, sets the tone for the AELM to be attended by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on October 31 and November 1. It also marks the final ministerial-level discussions of Korea’s APEC year.
As the chair of APEC 2025, Korea is leading efforts to produce key deliverables, particularly on AI and a framework on demographic changes at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
