APEC summit focuses on economic goals – GulfToday – Gulf Today

APEC summit focuses on economic goals – GulfToday – Gulf Today

APEC flags flutter outside the venue in Bangkok. AFP

It would seem that there is a surfeit of summits in south-east Asia. First there was the Association of South-East Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, the capital of Coambodia, followed by the G20 summit at Bali in Indonesia. On Friday, another summit opened at Bangkok of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The Bangkok meet is being projected as an economic-focused summit, at least by host Thailand and Thai international relations analysts. The two leaders outside of the APEC radius attending the summit are French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

The Saudi Crown Prince is on an official visit to Thailand and he is attending the APEC summit as a guest.

The 21-member APEC, founded in 1989 as a platform for economic programmes and dialogue, is seen as comprising nation-states but seen