Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) brings 21 economies together to tackle challenges, and help each other prosper. Hosting is a once-in-20-year opportunity for New Zealand and there is no other event on the calendar with such potential to shape our region’s future.

APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders. Members facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; more favourable business climates behind the border; and aligning regulations and standards across the region.

In 2021, New Zealand will host APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) virtually. As we plan for recovery from COVID-19, it is APEC, the most dynamic regional economy in the world, that will help us rebuild. There has never been a more important time to join together. You can read more about APEC 2021 here.

Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE)

The PPWE is one of 16 APEC working groups, and Manatū Wāhine, Ministry for Women is New Zealand’s lead agency on the group. PPWE’s overarching goal is to advance the economic integration of women in the APEC region and to coordinate gender activities across other APEC working groups. The key pillars of PPWE are: access to capital; access to markets; skills and capacity building; women’s leadership and agency; and innovation and technology.

The key work area for the PPWE in 2021 is the La Serena Roadmap on Women and Inclusive Growth (the Roadmap). The Roadmap, developed and endorsed in Chile in 2019, is the central guiding document in APEC's collective pursuit of the full and meaningful inclusion of women across our economies. In June this year, economies will report on progress towards the Roadmap's goals for the first time. You can find out more about our work with PPWE here.