Team - APEC Business Advisory Council

About ABAC

Mandate

APEC Leaders, in 1995, established the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) tasked to provide private sector perspective towards achieving free and open trade and investments in the Asia Pacific region (Bogor goals). In 2020, Leaders adopted the Putrajaya Vision, for an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations.

The Council had its first meeting and dialogue with the Leaders in 1996, when the Philippines first chaired APEC. Ambassador Roberto Romulo of the Philippines served as ABAC’s founding chairman.

Every year, ABAC submits a Report to APEC Leaders which outlines key recommendations focused on regional economic integration. ABAC also engages with Ministers, especially those responsible for Trade, Finance, SME, Energy, Food Security, Health, and Women to address urgent challenges.

Structure

ABAC is composed of three executives per economy, appointed by the respective President or Prime Minister, and their designated alternates. The members meet four times a year, one every quarter, each running 3-4 days.

As the voice of business in the region, ABAC provides advice to Leaders – recommending policy and regulatory reforms, as well as initiatives that would help achieve APEC Goals. This is essentially done at the ABAC Dialogue with Leaders which takes place during the Annual Economic Leaders Meeting.

There is also a Dialogue with APEC Senior Officials during the first ABAC meeting of the year. ABAC reports to APEC officials every after ABAC meeting for updates and alignments.

Work Program

The 2026 Work Program, under the chairmanship of China with the theme: “Openness, Innovation, and Cooperation,” will have the following priorities:

Regional Economic Integration Working Group

Robust, resilient and open economic architecture
Unlocking pathways to prosperity: Access and Opportunity
Future-proofing trade: The new digital and green economies

Sustainability Working Group

Enhancing Food Security and Agri-Tech Innovation
Achieving Smarter and Inclusive Healthcare
Promoting Resilience and Sustainability in Mining
Enabling Realistic and Just Energy Transitions

Digital and Innovation Working Group

AI Applied (AI+): AI solutions that transform traditional industries and empower underserved communities
AI and the Future of Work: Impact, training & adaptability
Trusted & Resilient Foundations: cybersecurity & secure, sustainable digital infrastructure
Digital Now & Next: Foster knowledge exchange and foresight

Connectivity Working Group

Physical Connectivity – supporting new APEC Connectivity Blueprint, supply chain connectivity cooperation
Institutional Connectivity: trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, and financial integration
People-to-People Connectivity: skills, mobility, and inclusion

Finance and Economics Task Force

Financing transition to secure, efficient and clean energy systems
Building ecosystems for expanded access to digital finance
Promoting regionally integrated digital trade finance, payment, settlement and clearing infrastructure
Expanding private financing for regional resilience
Supporting implementation of the Finance Ministers’ Incheon Plan

Detailed recommendations will be developed during the course of 2026 on priorities identified in the work program. ABAC’s recommendations will be conveyed to APEC governments through a range of avenues including to APEC Senior Officials, Trade, SME and Finance Ministers and directly to APEC Economic Leaders at the annual Dialogue with APEC Leaders.