Director General of Trade Negotiations Urges "Strengthening WTO Negotiation Functions" at APEC Foreign and Trade Ministers' Meeting

Andeok Geun, Head of the Trade Negotiation Department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, urged strengthening the negotiation functions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Foreign and Trade Ministers' Meeting on the 15th (local time).

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 16th that Head Andeok attended Session 2 of the APEC Foreign and Trade Ministers' Meeting held in San Francisco, USA, and presented such reform measures.

According to the ministry, at the meeting, Head Andeok stated, "The WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) scheduled for February next year should be a reform ministerial conference and an important turning point to restore trust in the multilateral trading system," adding, "In particular, the negotiation functions of the WTO must be strengthened through the normalization of the dispute settlement system by 2024, agreed upon at the ministerial meeting held in June 2021, the incorporation of the Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development into the WTO system, and the substantial conclusion of e-commerce negotiations within this year."

He also emphasized the need for trade and investment environment reforms to expand inclusiveness within the Asia-Pacific region. He shared Korea's customized support projects considering conditions, capabilities, and development stages for small and medium-sized enterprises and women, and introduced capacity-building policies utilizing digital technology. In particular, he mentioned the Korea-ASEAN Digital Innovation Flagship Project, which aims to strengthen the AI and digital utilization capabilities of ASEAN youth, and expressed his commitment to continue discussions on inclusiveness and sustainability within APEC as the chair country in 2025.

Additionally, by attending the anti-corruption session, he shared the progress of international cooperation to eradicate corruption crimes and promoted Korea's efforts to improve integrity, such as the enactment of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (2016) and the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Act (2021). He also highly evaluated that through the implementation of Pillar 4 of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), in which many APEC member countries participate, corruption in the region can be eradicated and tax administration can be streamlined to realize a fair economy. Head Andeok expressed his expectation that this will stabilize the business environment in the Asia-Pacific region and activate the entry of global companies into the regional market.