APEC Philippines 2015 was the 27th annual gathering of APEC leaders. It was held in the Manila, Philippines, on 18–19, November 2015. It marks the second time the Philippines was playing host to the APEC, having hosted the event previously in 1996.
Branding
The official APEC 2015 logo and theme, "Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World", were unveiled during the event, as well as its official Facebook[2] and Twitter accounts.
The logo design was donated by INKSURGE Design Studio. The circle of the logo represents a global community which is described as more connected. more integrated and more dynamic where each member-economies of APEC, both advanced and emerging contibute to shared development. The design also depicts the common waters that links the member-economies of APEC and the blue, red, and yellow triangles represents the 21 member-economies.
The sustained and shared economic growth of the member-economies are represented through an arrow pointed upward at the center of the globe, an image formed by the the 21 triangles. The light blue shade of the arrow symbolized the promising development of a member-economy resulting from positive interaction with partners and compliance to sound macroeconomic fundamentals. The triangle shape itself symbolizes balance which leads to a strong and stable economy.
The three colors of the triangles represents the APEC’s Pillars of Progress or the Bogor Goals; trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation through cost reduction and efficiency of business transactions, and economic and technical cooperation among APEC member-economies. These were first describe during APEC Indonesia 1994.
Agenda
The agenda of the Philippines' hosting of APEC 2015 is exemplified through its theme which focuses on promoting and advancing inclusive growth in the Asia Pacific region. This goal on promoting inclusive growth is divided into three stages-domestic/national, regional, and macro levels. There are also four priority set for APEC 2015; Investing in Human Capital Development, Fostering Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) Participation in Regional and Global Markets, Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities, and Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda.
Preparations
Preparations for APEC 2015 began with the signing of Administrative Order No. 36, s. 2012, which constituted the APEC 2015 National Organizing Council.
On 1 December 2014, President Benigno Aquino III led the APEC 2015 national launch at a dinner in Makati. The Philippine government allocated approximately 10 billion pesos for the hosting of the APEC meetings.
APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
As part of the security measures for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the government declared 17–20 November as school holidays and 18–19 November as special non-working days in Metro Manila. Manila has also banned most activities in and around Roxas Boulevard and Manila Bay, such as fishing, sailing, swimming, and walking.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) were placed on red alert status from blue alert status on November 14 in preperation for the five-day event. The raising of alert status was done ahead of schedule due to a procedure by the police following any international terrorist incident such as the November 2015 Paris attacks which occurred a day earlier. Despite the alert status the PNP assured the public that the alert status is due routine procedure and it has not monitored any specific threat.The Philippine Army, Air Force, and Navy has deployed their land, air, and sea assets at several undisclosed positions within Metro Manila.
Events
Makati in Metro Manila hosted the first APEC 2015 meeting, the Informal Senior Officials' Meeting (ISOM), from 8 to 9 December 2014. Originally slated to be held in Legazpi, Albay, the meeting was transferred to Makati as storm signals were raised in the former due to Typhoon Ruby.During the meeting, the Philippines' priorities for APEC 2015 meetings were approved, namely: investing in human capital development; fostering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participation in regional and global markets; building sustainable and resilient communities; and enhancing the regional economic integration agenda.
Declaration
The Declaration was sealed by the APEC-member leaders on November 19, 2015. Among the five main points of the declaration are fighting terrorism, poverty and climate change, continuous economic growth, and world economy outlook.
| APEC Philippines 2015 | |
|---|---|
Logo
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| Theme | "Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World." |
| Host country | Philippines |
| APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting |
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| Dates | 18–19 November |
| Venue | Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay |
| Group photo attire |
Barong Tagalog |
