1. The First Senior Officials' Meeting(SOM1) of APEC 2012 will be held in Moscow, Russia, the chair of APEC
    2012, on February 17-19. Deputy Minister for Trade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lee Si-hyung,
    will be representing the Korean side as head of delegation. 

 o More than 20 meetings for committees under SOM, such as the Committee on Trade and Investment(CTI),
    SOM Steering Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation(SCE), Budget and Management
    Committee(BMC), and Economic Committee(EC) are being held between January 30 and February 16.
    - The Korean delegation is comprised of relevant officials from government organizations, such as the 
      Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the 
      Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and experts from 
      the private sector, such as the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy(KIEP).

2. As the APEC chair this year, Russia drafted four agenda items as APEC 2012 priorities ; △ Liberalization of
    trade and investment and intensification of regional economic integration, △ strengthening of food security,
    △ establishment of reliable supply chains, and △ fostering innovative growth. These items will be
    independently discussed for specific cooperation measures and relevant projects at the SOM.

   ※ Prior to the 2012 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) held in Vladivostok, Russia on September 8-9,
       there will be a series of three SOMs, Meeting for Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) in Kazan on June
       4-5, and the APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Vladivostok on September 5-6.

3. Focusing on the priorities above, the Republic of Korea will be leading discussions for economic integration
    and growth in the APEC region, and will be presenting on specific action plans for the FTAAP
    Capacity-Building Project led by Korea based on widespread support and participation of member
    economies. It will also be seeking the active support and participation of the member economies for the
    success of the 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting in Gyeongju, Korea in May 2012.

     ※ Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific(FTAAP) Capacity-Building Project is a Korea-led APEC project aiming
         to narrow the capacity gap among member economies, one of the biggest challenges for FTAAP. It has
         secured support and participation of member economies such as USA, Australia, Chile, Japan, and the
         Philippines.

     ※ Outline of the 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting
        - Date : May 21 - 23, 2012
        - Venue : Hotel Hyundai, Gyeongju, Korea
        - Objective : Narrowing the knowledge and information divide within the APEC region & cooperation on
                              human resources development(HRD) for economic growth
        - Theme : Future challenges and educational responses
                          (Fostering global, innovative and cooperative education)
        - Participants : Education ministers and delegations from APEC economies and international
                                   organizations, entrepreneurs, experts, press corps, etc.
        - Program : planning session, plenary session, adoption of the joint ministerial statement, etc.
        - Side events : Educational exhibition, global forum & seminar, school visits, etc.    /end/

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation