SF to Host Largest Diplomatic Meeting Since the Founding of the United Nations in 1945

05/12/11— Mayor Edwin M. Lee today joined the U.S. State Department and regional business leaders to highlight the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Third Senior Officials Meeting, a major gathering of government and business leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies, being hosted in San Francisco from September 12-26, 2011.
       
“With an unparalleled global reputation, a world-class international airport with connections to important markets throughout the APEC economies, and the most diverse and highly educated population of any major city, San Francisco provides the ideal setting for the upcoming APEC meetings,” said Mayor Lee. “We look forward to welcoming our friends from throughout the Asia Pacific region this coming September. We thank the State Department for selecting our City to host these important meetings.”

“The round of APEC meetings that we will host together in San Francisco in September will feature an unprecedented level of direct private sector participation in APEC policy discussions,” said APEC U.S. Senior Official Ambassador Kurt Tong. “Covering a broad agenda from trade to innovation to clean energy technology and health, we negotiate specific and significant policy outcomes for the U.S. APEC host year.”

APEC is a 21-member association of economies from the Asia-Pacific region working together to advance regional economic integration and prosperity. A variety of meetings are held each year, ranging from technical working groups to the annual gathering of the APEC Leaders. Senior Officials are ambassador-level negotiators for each of the 21 governments. APEC’s 21 member economies today account for 55 percent of global GDP, purchase 58 percent of U.S. goods exports, and comprise a market of 2.7 billion consumers. Seven of the U.S.’s top 15 trade partners are members of APEC.

APEC’s Third Senior Officials’ Meeting, as part of the overall APEC effort, will be the largest diplomatic meeting in San Francisco since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, led by Governor Earl Warren, Stephen Bechtel and Henry J. Kaiser. APEC’s Third Senior Officials’ Meeting and related ministerial and high-level meetings are an intensive series of meetings on issues including energy, transportation, women and the economy, digital prosperity, healthcare innovation, and other topics. There will be over 70 meetings and anticipated 3500 attendees and volunteers. It is the largest cluster of APEC meetings to be held on the U.S. mainland in 2011, and it is the final official set of talks preparatory to the November APEC leaders’ summit in Honolulu. 

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute is the fiscal and organizational home of the California APEC Host Committee (CalAPEC). CalAPEC is the local host committee for the APEC events taking place in San Francisco and is a coalition of business, government, and international organizations under the umbrella of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the California Chamber of Commerce.

“The Bay Area Council has formed an important partnership with the State Department to work on these events, which will mark the largest diplomatic gathering in the Bay Area since the founding of the United Nations in 1945,” said Bay Area Council President & CEO Jim Wunderman. “We are honored to have the opportunity to take the lead on bringing APEC and the Women and the Economy Summit to our region.”

In conjunction with APEC’s Third Senior Officials’ Meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver a global Women and the Economy Summit. The gathering of global leaders, including U.S. Secretaries of State, Commerce and related Ministers from countries including China, Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Vietnam, and Australia, will focus on topics such as women as agents of economic growth, increased female employment impacts on the global economy and financial inclusion for women-owned business. The summit will set a conversation about the status of women globally and will be a key vehicle for implementing important policies to empower women across the 21 APEC countries.