Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

From APEC HRDWG Wiki

Established in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.

APEC’s 21 member economies -Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Viet Nam- account for approximately 40.5% of the world’s population, approximately 54.2% of world GDP and about 43.7% of world trade. Since its inception, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing exports.

The goal of human resources development in APEC is to promote the well-being of all people in the region through economic growth and development. The Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) conducts work programs to develop human resources on issues ranging from education to labor to capacity building.