Economic leaders will discuss post-pandemic recovery as well as the food and energy crisis brought by the conflict in Ukraine during the Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on November 18-19, a Department of Foreign Affairs official said.

Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said the APEC meeting which will be attended by the leaders from 21 member states will be "more on the trade and investment facilitation in the Asia Pacific"

President Ferdinand Marcos will be attending APEC which will be held on November 18-19.

"The agenda there, especially on post-pandemic recovery, would be very crucial for the economic agenda of the region, especially in terms of resolving the outstanding issues that were spawned in the wake of the Ukraine crisis especially food, and energy security issues, the disruption of the supply chain in the world, and the other measures that would be agreed upon by the 21 economic leaders of APEC to pave the way forward for more sustainable recovery in the years ahead," he said.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Teresita Daza emphasized the importance of the APEC which was established in 1989. Daza said it "covers the areas of trade and investment, energy cooperation, conservation of marine resources, telecommunication, and human resource development."

"It is significant to the Philippines largely because for the Philippines, APEC economies account for 85 percent of total trade of the Philippines. Over 7.5 million out of 10.7 billion or 70 percent of Filipinos abroad call APEC Region home. They are also responsible for 68 percent of the remittances making its way to the Philippine economy. And in terms of visitors to the Philippines from APEC, it comprises about 56 percent of tourist arrivals," she said.

"Like all meetings, it’s an important platform for us to actually share our experiences across different areas, and the initiatives that were taken especially in terms of the post-COVID recovery, our desire to actually see how more we can have more supply chain resiliencies. So, there are a number of areas that are a priority to the Philippines that will actually be discussed," she added. Robina Asido/DMS