Peru is once again capturing the world’s attention by hosting in 2024 the Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, an important global trade bloc, with preparatory meetings that have already begun in Lima.

The APEC forum, founded in 1989, brings together 21 economies from the Asia-Pacific region, including the most powerful ones such as the United States, China, Japan, Russia, among others.

“Peru is an incredibly important member of APEC. This is the third time that Peru is hosting APEC, which demonstrates that Peru shows real leadership in the organization. It has been the host in 2008, 2016, and 2024,” United States Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Ambassador Matt Murray, said in an interview with the Official Gazette El Peruano.

“I think that Peru has done a remarkable job planning and preparing to host this year by looking at how some of these priorities on trade and investments, on using technology to facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal sector, by looking at sustainability and inclusion objectives here,” he added.

Likewise, the senior official noted that the U.S. organizing team of APEC 2023 meetings had a great partnership with the Peru team to advance the issues that have already been addressed in recent summits of the forum.

“Peru has done a terrific job of being able to demonstrate continuity, going ahead from the last couple of years in APEC, which I think will be a great bridge to the future,” Ambassador Murray underlined.

Moreover, the envoy stated that the United States is very proud of some of the outcomes that have come out of the U.S. host year in San Francisco, to advance objectives on sustainability and inclusivity.

“I know that Peru has great plans looking ahead to 2024 to do the same. But I think that the biggest challenge is how to ensure the agenda is comprehensive and really does address many of the challenges that we are facing in the world today, when it comes to the global economy,” he said.

In this regard, Mr. Murray referred to the fact expressed by the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, regarding the need to use APEC to meet the moment that we are in, because we are facing a lot of challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic headwinds, the climate crisis, the digital transformation, and energy transition.

“There are a number of different challenges that the world is facing, that our region is facing. And so, I think that APEC over the last couple of years has tried very hard to be an organization that can help meet the moment that we are in, when it comes to all these economic challenges, and I think that under Peru’s leadership in 2024 certainly will be able to continue on that path,” he expressed.