BANGKOK, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand has been given the immense honor of hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, in November 2022. The role comes with major opportunities and equally significant duties for Thailand due to APEC's long-standing importance as well as the unique context of the year.

APEC was established in 1989 with Thailand as a co-founding member. The important forum for economic cooperation has since come to comprise 21 leading economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Throughout the decades, APEC's core value has remained promoting regional economic integration. At present, APEC is home to over 2.8 billion people with a combined GDP of more than 53 trillion US dollars, more than half of the world's GDP and global trade.

Hosting the meeting in the first year following alleviation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand's theme for APEC in 2022, "Open. Connect. Balance." indicates the key deliverables it envisions namely; opening the region to opportunities, connecting across all dimensions, and helping achieve balance in all aspects.

The 21 economies of APEC, utilize the meeting annually to discuss avenues for facilitating trade and economic progress in a range of dimensions, stand to especially benefit this year due to their need to reconnect, uncover new opportunities for growth and build resilience against emerging challenges.

Initiatives spearheaded by Thailand in accordance with these objectives include; refreshing the dialogue on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) through a post-COVID-19 lens, forming the Safe Passage Taskforce to coordinate safe and seamless resumption of cross-border travel and securing endorsement for the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy as a leader-level document committing APEC to environmentally-conscious economics.

Furthermore, Thailand has devoted attention during its year as host to supporting digital technology and innovation to develop human capacity, promoting access to funding for Micro, Small, and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs), empowering women through more inclusive economic participation, and supporting sustainable tourism.

From the doldrums brought on by COVID-19, APEC poises itself in 2022 to not only revitalize its economies, but to emerge stronger and better equipped to achieve long-term prosperity. Thailand, in the host role, will be able to showcase its capabilities as one of the founding members of the forum.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Week will run from 14 to 19 November 2022, while the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place on 18 - 19 November in Bangkok. Prior to the main meeting, there will be a series of gatherings, including the final APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, as well as the APEC Ministerial Meeting, which is attended by trade ministers and foreign affairs ministers.