The Ministry of Economy and Finance said on the 21st that at the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting, all 21 member economies unanimously adopted a joint statement and the Incheon Plan, a medium- to long-term roadmap for the next five years.
The meeting in Incheon was the first held in Korea in 20 years since 2005. Finance ministers from Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and vice finance ministers from China, Japan and Brunei attended.
The Incheon Plan is a roadmap that follows the Cebu Action Plan established in Cebu, the Philippines, in 2015. ▲ Innovation ▲ Finance ▲ fiscal policy ▲ Accessibility and opportunity for all are the main themes.
An official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, "Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Koo Yun-cheol, who chaired the meeting, once again emphasized APEC's founding spirit of solidarity and integration despite challenges such as policy uncertainty and demographic and climate issues, and drew support from members."
In particular, Korea officially put artificial intelligence (AI) forward as a core agenda item for the first time at a finance ministers' meeting. It achieved the outcome of including in the communiqué the need for cooperation to support AI infrastructure and talent development, private-sector collaboration, and the AI ecosystem.
Korea also led discussions so that its policy directions—such as building an innovation ecosystem including expanded research and development (R&D), financial support for small businesses, advancement of capital markets, and the role of fiscal policy in supporting economic growth—can have strong alignment with future APEC economic discussions.
Participants also agreed to expand the previously sporadic discussions on financial inclusion at the finance ministers' meeting and make "accessibility and opportunity for all" a standalone theme of the Incheon Plan.
An official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, "The finance ministers' agreement is significant in that it came dramatically a week ahead of the APEC summit," adding, "We reaffirmed APEC's role amid rapid shifts in the global order, including major economies' trade policies and the AI technology power struggle."
At the venue, Deputy Prime Minister Koo held bilateral meetings with key finance ministers, including Australia (Jim Chalmers), New Zealand (Nicola Willis), Vietnam (Nguyen Van Thang) and Hong Kong (Paul Chan).