Sustainable Development and Circular Economy (Seminar 1): Natural Resource Industries – Mining, Forestry, and Oil & Gas | Bozeman, Montana, USA | September 20-23, 2017

Many PECC economies depend upon revenue from natural resource utilization. This includes a wide range of primary and secondary industries involving forestry, mining, and oil and gas development. Natural resource extraction and the value of these commodities can represent significant percentages of GDPs. However, growing concern over climate change, biodiversity, and human health impacts has resulted in an increasingly complex set of domestic and international government regulations, interventions, and analyses concerned with enforcing sustainable environmental policy.

In response to this web of rules, regulations, laws and emerging international treaties, many companies have begun investing in a range of innovative approaches to achieving sustainability objectives while growing their respective financial bottom-lines. As necessity is often the mother of invention, international leaders in forestry, mining and oil and gas industries are utilizing technological innovation, advances in da...

Sustainable Development and Circular Economy (Seminar 2): Sustainable & Responsible Tourism | Papeete, French Polynesia | November 20-21, 2017

The United Nations has named 2017 the “International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.” More than one billion international tourists are traveling around the world each year and this number is expected to increase significantly by 2020, driven largely by China’s growing middle class as well as the cruise industry. The tourism sector for many economies is growing at exponential rates and represents substantial economic value for a many of Asia-Pacific economies.

The tourism industry has become a major source of revenue for many of the region’s economies but also has become an increasing concern regarding environmental protection. Given the growing number of visitors and the infrastructure expansion necessary to support these tourists, many of the attractive and valuable environmental/ cultural features are at risk. Over time, without proper planning and education, these tangible and intangible assets may become degraded, losing their original form, causing the tourism indust...

CNCPEC: Building A Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific and Promoting Global Economic Governance | Sanya, China | August 15, 2017

Sponsored by China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (CNCPEC), the APEC Study Center of Nankai University, Hainan CGE Peace Development Foundation and supported by the Center for China and Globalization, an international symposium, 'Building A Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific and Promoting Global Economic Governance' was held in Sanya, Hainan, China on 15th August 2017.

Mr. Gonzalo Gutierrez, Peruvian former foreign minister and current Ambassador to the European Union; Mr. Rory McLeod, Chair of APEC Economic Committee; Ambassador Tang Guoqiang, Co-chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and Mr. Dai Yuming, Vice Mayor of Sanya City, delivered the welcome and keynote speeches.

More than 40 leading experts on APEC issues from top Chinese and foreign think tanks gathered at the Symposium to discuss and search means to turn the APEC economic leaders' vision and initiative of building a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) into viable action plans. Th...

MANCPEC: Roundtable on APEC Post-2020 Agenda | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | May 2, 2017

The inaugural Malaysia National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (MANCPEC) Roundtable on Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Post-2020 Agenda was held on Tuesday, 2 May 2017, at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Around 30 individuals representing government, businesses, business associations, think tanks and academia attended the Roundtable, with majority being MANCPEC members.

The main purpose of the Roundtable is to brainstorm ideas on APEC goals beyond year 2020 and look at relevant questions on the future of APEC. At the Roundtable, two distinguished speakers were Datin Che Mazni Che Wook, APEC Senior Official for Malaysia from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Dato’ Muhamad Noor Yacob, Former APEC Executive Director. Dato’ N Vasudevan, Former APEC Senior Official for Malaysia and Dato’ Ramesh Kodammal, Member of ASEAN-BAC were the discussants at the Roundtable.

Datin Che Mazni highlighted ...

Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on APEC toward 2020 and Beyond | Hanoi, Vietnam | May 16, 2017

The Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on APEC Toward 2020 and Beyond was co-organized by Vietnam APEC SOM Chair's office and PECC. The event was attended by about 300 participants including APEC Senior Officials, other representatives from member economies, academia, businesses, regional and international institutions. The Dialogue is a follow up to the APEC Leaders’ Lima Declaration made in November 2016 to start “a series of high-level dialogues on APEC Toward 2020 and Beyond.”

H.E. Tran Dai Quang, the President of Vietnam, opened the Dialogue and shared his vision of a peaceful, dynamic, inclusive, seamless, and people and business-centered Asia–Pacific Community in the 21st century. 

Pascal Lamy, chair of the French committee for PECC (FPTPEC) and former Director General of the WTO reminded that realizing open trade is a painful process but that the governments should place more focus on social inclusion in order to mitigate the negative impact of open trade and globalization....