Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation | Town Hall | State Dept Team | Aug 29 HOLD

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The Tennessee World Affairs Council

About APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. Currently, APEC has 21 member economies. APEC is the premier platform for the U.S. to advance economic policies in the Asia-Pacific region to promote free, fair, and open trade and investment and advance sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

APEC U.S. 2023 Host Year

Under our APEC 2023 theme of “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All,” and our policy priorities for an “interconnected, innovative, and inclusive” Asia-Pacific region, the United States remains committed to furthering APEC’s work across a wide range of policy domains, including: trade and investment facilitation; the digital economy; gender equity and equality; clean energy; and anti-corruption. From addressing broader supply chain shocks, to strengthening struggling health systems, to bolstering food security, to mitigating climate change – we are advancing a range of discussions and outcomes in our host year focused on building resilience across various sectors of the APEC economies.

The U.S. APEC Host Secretariat led by U.S. Senior Official for APEC Matt Murray arranges and organizes a major effort which includes a full year’s worth of meetings and events for thousands of visiting delegates, including heads of state and government, ministers, senior officials, subject-matter experts, and private sector representatives from the 21 APEC member economies.

In Detroit, from May 15 to 26, Senior Officials for APEC and transportation and trade ministers from all APEC economies get together to discuss critical agenda – inclusive trade, green transportation, energy transitions, etc.

Why is the APEC region crucial to American prosperity?

The 21 APEC member economies account for nearly 40% of the global population, almost half of global trade, and approximately 60% of global GDP. As of 2021, fellow APEC members were the destination for more than 60% of U.S. goods exports, and seven of the top 10 overall trading partners for the United States are APEC members. Businesses from APEC economies have invested

over $1.7 trillion in the United States, employing 2.3 million Americans. The United States is a leader in implementing good regulatory practices (GRPs) in APEC, breaking down barriers to doing business and increasing prosperity for all. The United States remains committed to expanding and deepening economic ties within APEC for the benefit of American workers, families, and businesses.

Stakeholder Engagement and Minority Businesses

APEC is the premier platform for the United States to advance economic policies in the Asia-Pacific region to promote free, fair, and open trade and investment and advance inclusive and sustainable growth. With our host year, our goal is to make APEC relevant to individual Americans, whether they are members of the private sector, civil society, think tanks, academia, advocacy groups, or local governments. We want to hear from a broad range of stakeholders to ensure our agenda reflects what is important to the American people.

We highly respect and value minority business communities. As entrepreneurs and innovators, all of you have contributed tremendously to the economic opportunities in the United States and the APEC region through your ingenuity and resiliency as real ambassadors. You are a key ingredient to enable our peoples to prosper, businesses to thrive, investments to flourish, and challenges to be overcome. Meeting with you is part of our domestic stakeholder outreach efforts. We are ready to listen to your voice and are committed to incorporating your priorities into our work for APEC 2023 and beyond. Additionally, the compelling stories of yours allow other APEC delegates to learn about how the diversity and resilience of the American people have navigated through economic shifts, addressed challenges, and overcome them.

About Matt Murray

Matt Murray was appointed as the U.S. Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in February 2022. In this role, he coordinates U.S. participation in APEC and also oversees the Office of Economic Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Prior to his current assignment, Matt led the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB) as Senior Bureau Official from August 2021 to January 2022, and he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations from September 2020 to August 2021.

Matt has focused on U.S. economic engagement with the Asia Pacific region throughout his State Department career, including as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, and Special Assistant for East Asian and Pacific issues in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment.

Matt is a Senior Foreign Service Officer who also has served overseas in Beijing, Shanghai, Dar es Salaam and New Delhi and in Washington, D.C. as Director of the 24/7 Watch in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He has master’s degrees from the U.S. Army War College and the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

Soo Koo, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, U.S. APEC Secretariat, U.S. Department of State

Soo Koo currently serves as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Stakeholder Engagement Officer under the Office of Economic Policy at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. She previously served as the Communications Director at the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, the Chief of Staff for Maryland’s First Lady, and the Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs under Governor Hogan’s Administration from 2019 to 2022. Prior to this, she was the Executive Director of the International Leadership Foundation, a national nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C., and as a public representative for the Montgomery County Community Development Advisory Committee. In 2020, she was selected for the list of the top 40 Asian American and Pacific Islander political operatives and public affairs professionals under 40 by the National Association of Asian Pacifics in Politics and Public Affairs (NAAPPPA) in 2020. (Montgomery County).