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.
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.
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.
