The second round of the high-level preparatory meeting for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit kicked off Saturday on South Korea's southern island of Jeju, officials said.
The 14-day Senior Officials' Meeting, scheduled to run through May 16, brings together more than 3,200 government delegates and private-sector representatives from the 21 APEC member economies.
South Korea will use the occasion to highlight the details of key agenda items it has introduced for this year's summit, including cooperation on artificial intelligence and responses to demographic changes, according to foreign ministry officials.
Coinciding with the event will be ministerial meetings on finance and trade, as well as a series of conferences on economy and technology cooperation, women and economic policy partnerships, among others.
Three more SOM sessions are expected to be held before the summit, scheduled for November.
