Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Foreign Minister MOTEGI’s Attendance at the APEC Ministerial Meeting 2025 Session II
October 30, 2025
On October 30 (local time), from 13:15 p.m. for approximately two hours, the second session of the APEC Ministerial Meeting (Theme: “Innovate and Prosper”) was held in Gyeongju, the Republic of Korea (ROK), under the chairmanship of H.E. Yeo Han-Koo, Minister of Trade of ROK, with Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan , participating together with Mr. AKAZAWA Ryosei, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- In this session, Minister MOTEGI made the following remarks:
- In today’s world, where uncertainty in the global economy is ever-increasing, the importance of maintaining and strengthening a free and fair economic order has never been more crucial. APEC is called upon to play a role in advancing discussions on WTO reform, deepening and expanding high-quality economic partnerships.
- The WTO is a critical basic infrastructure for the global economy. To enable it to fulfill its original role as the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, concrete reforms, such as improving its decision-making procedures, must be advanced.
- Japan welcomes the entry into force of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The outcome of the plurilateral negotiations, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and the Agreement on Electronic Commerce, must be promptly incorporated into the WTO’s legal framework and entered into force. Japan will continue to take the lead in WTO Reform and rule-making. Japan will also collaborate with APEC economies toward achieving tangible outcomes at the Fourteenth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).
- Furthermore, deepening high quality economic partnerships is critical for economic development in the region. Japan will work to enhance level-playing-fields and further promote trade and investment through maintaining, improving and expanding the high standards of CPTPP, as well as ensuring the transparent implementation of the RCEP.
- Many participating ministers referred to the importance of APEC’s fundamental principles, such as a free, open, and fair trade and investment environment and the importance of the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, confirming their commitment to further cooperation toward the economic development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.