On June 10, 2025, Dr. Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit, Interim Secretary General of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), participated as a speaker in the hybrid session titled “Digital Trade Interface: When Sound Regulation and Innovative Technologies Produce Economic Payoffs.” The event was co-organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as part of UNESCAP’s Paperless Trade Week, held at the United Nations Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Karen highlighted the...

(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...

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...

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,...

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;...

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...

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::...

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...

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...