Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Incheon City going all out for APEC preliminary meeting
The Songdo ConvensiA, an event venue for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2025 Third Senior Officials’ Meeting / Yonhap
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Incheon Metropolitan City is fully committed to hosting a preliminary ministerial meeting for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the city said Tuesday.
According to Incheon Metropolitan City, it will host the APEC 2025 Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) at Songdo ConvensiA for three weeks, starting July 26.
The SOM3 meeting is one of the key gatherings in the lead-up to the annual APEC summit where senior officials from its 21 member economies discuss a wide range of issues including trade, investment facilitation, climate change cooperation and inclusive economic growth.
Along with this year's SOM3 meeting, top officials are also expected to share their latest developments and ideas in digitalization, food security and anti-corruption strategies at the venue.
The city estimated more than 5,000 representatives from 21 countries will visit Incheon to join some 200 discussion sessions.
According to the city-funded Incheon Institute, the economic impact of the three-week meeting is estimated to reach 40.9 billion won ($30 million) while creating 410 jobs.
The city said it will operate free city shuttles for participants, while placing about 140 volunteers at the Incheon International Airport, event venue and hotels.
The central government also promised to provide 1.2 billion won through the supplementary budget recently passed in the National Assembly to help refurbish the event venue for the meeting’s success, the city added.
“The APEC 2025 SOM3 is an opportunity to strengthen Incheon’s global brand,” an Incheon Metropolitan City official said in a press release. “We will do our best in preparation.”
The APEC 2025 Summit will be held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, starting in October.
Last week, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik also visited Gyeongju to check the city’s preparations and encourage the staff preparing for the event.