LIMA, November 15. /TASS/. Leaders of the countries and territories that make up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization will gather in Lima, the Peruvian capital, for the organization’s 2024 summit and other events, organized under the motto “Empower , include, grow”.

Leaders of APEC economies will meet for informal conversations in Lima on November 15. The next day will take place the official part of the summit, which will culminate in the adoption of the final declaration. The Russian delegation is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has already arrived in Lima. According to the White House, he is expected to meet with outgoing US President Joe Biden.

Other distinguished guests at the summit include Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, President South Korean Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister. Shigeru Ishiba and other leaders.

Summit themes

According to Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, head of the Russian delegation to the summit, APEC has managed to maintain its status as a non-politicized platform for discussing economic issues in the region.

Lifting trade barriers will be among the topics discussed, Overchuk told reporters, adding that the organization’s ambitious goal of organizing a free trade zone in the region also persists. He also cited transportation routes, access to electricity for the region’s population, digitalization and AI, among other issues likely to be discussed.

“It (access to electricity) remains a traditional problem in this region. It is expected that renewable energy and the shift to green energy will be discussed. There are many questions here because we say always and everywhere that this change must happen without additional problems for developing countries, low-income countries, that financing this change should not lead them to new financial servitude,” Overchuk told reporters.

Furthermore, “we will listen to what is said about new hydrogen energy,” he declared.

“Digitalization issues will surely be discussed from the point of view of business, from the point of view of creating paperless technologies that support the movement of goods, including cross-border movement of goods,” added the head of the Russian delegation .

Peruvian presidency

Renato Reyes, Peru’s top APEC official, said his country has hosted more than 270 APEC events during its presidency of the organization in 2024. Around 20 more are expected to take place this week.

The group’s participants adopted 15 documents this year, with four more expected to be signed later this week.

Additionally, a joint statement by the APEC Foreign and Economic Ministers and the final APEC Leaders’ Statement are expected to be adopted at the upcoming summit.

About APEC

APEC is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989. Its main objectives are to strengthen economic integration, expand trade and increase employment in the region.

APEC includes 19 economies and two Chinese territories – Hong Kong and Taiwan, which is why APEC members are generally referred to as “economies”. The secretariat, headquartered in Singapore, performs administrative and technical functions. Russia joined APEC in 1998.