APEC Connectivity Blueprint: The 2020 Mid-Term Review

When APEC Leaders developed the APEC Connectivity Blueprint (2015-2025) in 2014, they envisioned a seamless and comprehensively connected and integrated Asia Pacific. The goal was to strengthen physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity by taking agreed actions and meeting agreed targets by 2025. This report is the mid-term review of the Blueprint to review the progress achieved by APEC at the halfway mark of the Blueprint’s implementation.

The review shows that APEC economies have made progress across the three pillars of connectivity covering areas such as trade facilitation, infrastructure development, structural reform, labour mobility and travel facilitation. The adoption of digital technology is a key factor across the three pillars, and quality infrastructure remains vital in achieving a seamlessly connected and integrated Asia-Pacific region. Cognizant of the new challenges posed by the global economic disruption and the post-pandemic global supply chain reconfigurations, the review reaffirms a need for APEC to continue implementing measures that strengthen regional economic integration and support resiliency within global value chains.