The "APEC Conference on Innovation and Trade" will be held in Singapore from April 4 to 5 under the leadership of Japan. This is the first international APEC conference that focuses on the impact of trade promotion on innovation. It will bring together the wisdom of the public and private sectors in APEC's 21 member economies for discussion on policies for fostering innovation and driving economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The results of the forum will be reported at the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in June 2012 and discussed at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Ministerial Meeting in September.

1. .A free and open environment is expected to serve as the base for cross-border innovation in the Asia-Pacific region. During the Economic Leaders' Meeting held in last November in Hawaii, the U.S., APEC member economies confirmed that they should promote effective, non-discriminatory, and market-driven innovation policy.
2. As a first step toward this goal, the APEC Conference on Innovation and Trade will take place in Singapore under the leadership of Japan. This is the first international APEC conference that focuses on the impact of trade promotion on innovation. It will bring together the wisdom of public and private entities in APEC's 21 member economies, including government officials responsible for trade policy, leading companies, venture firms, venture capitals, and research institutes, for discussion on policies for fostering innovation and driving economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
3. Attention will be focused on "absorptive capacity," which is the capacity to create innovations by absorbing and adopting new overseas business models and technologies obtained through trade and investment. The conference aims to deepen discussion on essential elements of absorptive capacity, such as a free and open environment for trade and investment, infrastructure, human resources, and connections between economies.
4. The results of the conference will be reported at the Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade scheduled in June 2012 in Kazan, Russia, and discussed at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Ministerial Meeting in September in Vladivostok.

Date:

April 4 (Wednesday) and 5 (Thursday), 2012

Venue:

Singapore

Organizer:

Under the leadership of Japan as an official APEC meeting

Participants:

About 200 people

*including government officials responsible for trade policy, leading companies, venture firms, venture capitals, and research institutes from the Asia-Pacific region

• Please see Appendix. (PDF401KB) (in Japanese)

March 23, 2012

APEC Office, Trade Policy Bureau