Issues

Dr. Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit attends ISEAS Seminar: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

(L to R: Mr. Stephen Olson, Dr. Cassey Lee, Mr. Eduardo Pedrosa, Dr. Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit) (Photos Credits to ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) On March 25, 2025, Dr. Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit, PECC Interim Secretary General, participated in a hybrid seminar hosted by the Singapore APEC Study Centre at ISEAS. The event, titled "The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities," provided invaluable insights into the economic outlook for APEC economies in 2025...

PECC Appoints Dr Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit as Interim Secretary General

Monday, January 27, 2025

The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit as the Interim Secretary General of the PECC International Secretariat, effective 3 February 2025. She succeeds Mr Eduardo Pedrosa, who has been appointed as Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. Prior to this role, Dr Pitakdumrongkit served as Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang...

PECC Seminar on Responsible Adoption of Generative-Purpose AI, 18-19 September 2024

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) committees from the United States and the France Pacific Territories convened this seminar, a partner event of the Paris AI Action Summit 2025, to bring together experts from AI labs, regulatory bodies, civil society, and academia in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the responsible development and governance of general-purpose AI systems (GPAIS). The Asia-Pacific region hosts the most critical actors in AI research, chip manufacturing, development,...

PECC 30th General Meeting: Achieving a Sustainable and Inclusive Asia-Pacific through Innovation

Thursday, August 31, 2023

The 30th PECC General Meeting concluded on 15th August 2023. The event was hosted by the US PECC Committee during the APEC SOM 3 cluster of meetings held in Seattle. Over 100 delegates from 22 economies participated in person and virtually in the discussions. Participants came from different sectors of society; government; business; academia; civil society; and local governments. The conference featured in-depth discussions on: Digital Solutions to Environmental Challenges and Climate Change;...

FTAAP Pathways to Prosperity

Sunday, July 23, 2023

A multi-year project led by AUSPECC to advance regional thinking on inclusive growth, economic integration, stability and cooperation in the region. The intention is to lead a fresh conversation about the value of enhanced cooperation and regional integration, in order to better develop ideas about how to proceed to those goal, and to use the concept of an FTAAP as a framework for this conversation. The aim is to: Explore how an FTAAP work program based on advancing the concept of an FTAAP can...

29th PECC General Meeting Concludes

Monday, November 21, 2022

The 29 th PECC General Meeting concluded on 3 rd November 2022. The event was hosted by the Thailand National Committee of the Pacific Economic Council (TNCPEC) and the International Study Centre of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the theme of “ Asia Pacific beyond Thailand APEC 2022 ”. The conference provided insights and in-depth discussions on 3 key themes: 1. The disruption affecting APEC connectivity during 2016-2022 2. Trends of trade and investment liberalization / restrictions...

PECC Statement to APEC Finance Ministers

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Dr Richard Cantor, International Co-Chair represented PECC at the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting held on 22 October 2021. At their meeting Finance Ministers from the Asia-Pacific shared views on responding to COVID-19 for a sustainable and inclusive recovery and the use of fiscal policy and budget management to address ongoing challenges. Dr Cantor, also the chair of the USPECC committee and the Chief Credit Officer for Moody’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service shared highlights from...

28th PECC General Meeting Concludes

Wednesday, August 04, 2021

The 28th PECC General Meeting concluded on 22nd July 2021. The event was hosted by the New Zealand Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (NZPECC) on the theme of “ Implementing the Putrajaya Vision: Revitalising the Regional Economy and Ensuring Sustainable and Inclusive Societies ”. The 2- days conference provided valuable insights and in-depth discussions from distinguished speakers and panellists, focusing on 4 key themes: 1. Challenges of the COVID recovery: Managing COVID...

PECC Statement for 3rd APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting

Friday, June 25, 2021

On behalf of PECC Co-Chairs, Mr. Eduardo Pedrosa, Secretary-General of PECC attended the 3rd APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting virtually on 16 June 2021. This meeting is pivotal not only because it will set forward APEC’s further work on structural reform for the next 5 years, but also its relative importance to the overall APEC agenda. PECC’s statement to the ministers identified 5 key action areas that needed to be addressed in APEC’s next phase of work on structural reforms::...

APEC Trade Ministers Act to Boost Vaccine Production

Monday, June 14, 2021

PECC co-chairs Dr Richard Cantor and Ambassador Zhan Yongxin represented the Council at the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting. During the meeting Dr Cantor spoke on behalf of the co-chairs noting that “ Last month we met with our PECC executive committee to discuss developments in the region, and there was an unambiguous message from our members that the economic recovery remains fragile with several economies in our region suffering from 2nd or 3rd waves of infections. ” Dr Cantor...

WTO Services Domestic Regulation Fact sheet

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Services trade has grown considerably in the past decade and is estimated to now account for around half of international trade. At the same time, the 2019 WTO World Trade Report found that the costs of trading services are about twice as high as trade costs for goods. A significant portion of these costs are the result of regulatory divergence, as well as opaque regulations and cumbersome procedures. Through the WTO Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, a group of 63 WTO...

27th PECC GENERAL MEETING CONCLUDES

Friday, December 18, 2020

The 27th PECC General Meeting concluded on 17 December 2020. The event was hosted by the Malaysian National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (MANCPEC) on the theme of “ Optimizing Human Potential Towards Future of Shared Prosperity and Sustainability in Times of Covid-19. ” Ambassador Don Campbell, international co-chair of PECC said that how we respond to the Covid-19 crisis was a defining moment of our age. While we were in a moment of danger, we were also in a moment of...