Seattle – The U.S. Department of State, the State of Washington, and the City of Seattle are pleased to announce Seattle, Washington as the site of the third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ and Ministerial Meetings, including the Women and the Economy Forum, during the U.S. APEC host year in 2023.
“Seattle has a long and proud history of partnership with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, along with a diverse and vibrant Asian American and Pacific Islander community who call our city home. We’re thrilled to advance further collaboration as a host city for the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “30 years ago, Seattle helped host the United States’ first APEC summit, and while much has changed globally, our core commitment to inclusion and innovation have not. I am excited to welcome leaders from around the world back to Seattle and foster connections to promote opportunity, good jobs, and a more sustainable future here and abroad.”
Watch the announcement video with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Governor Jay Inslee, and Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Washington State and Seattle have always been at the center of U.S. engagement with the Asia-Pacific region and play an important role in U.S. foreign policy. In 1993, the United States hosted the first APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Blake Island in Puget Sound. Seattle will be a prime venue for the policy priorities we seek to advance during our APEC 2023 host year: creating a resilient and sustainable future for all and building an interconnected, innovative, and inclusive Asia-Pacific region.
“Washington state is thrilled to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next year as we look to the future of one of the world’s most important and vibrant economic relationships,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Washington state and the APEC nations are bound together by ties of culture, of business, and especially the tens of billions of dollars of trade that flow through our ports. This relationship is at the heart of not only our economic future, but to meeting our commitments to climate progress and equity as well. We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration and the City of Seattle to show off the very best that Washington state and America have to offer.”
The Seattle metropolitan area is a major exporter of manufactured goods, agricultural products, and advanced technologies and services to the Asia-Pacific region. In 2018, the State of Washington’s exports to the APEC region totaled $50.2 billion. Furthermore, all of the State’s top five export and import markets are APEC members. Seattle is also home to the National Center for APEC, which is dedicated to advancing private sector priorities in APEC.
Hosting one of the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting in 2023 in Seattle will showcase U.S. economic leadership, particularly on economic inclusion, given the large, diverse, and dynamic Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population in the region.
For further information, please contact the U.S. APEC Team at DOSAPEC@state.gov.