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Annex A: APEC ACTION AGENDA FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

APEC ACTION AGENDA FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

At our meeting in Da Nang in 2017 we welcomed the adoption of the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap (“the Roadmap”).  In doing this, we recognized that digital technologies (and their associated services and platforms) have the potential to continue providing significant gains.  Under the Roadmap, we also recognized that if these gains are to be fully realized, significant challenges need to be addressed.  The Roadmap sets out eleven key focus areas of work designed to address these challenges.

We welcome the progress that has been made in implementing the Roadmap during Papua New Guinea’s host year in 2018. This includes establishment of a new governance mechanism, the Digital Economy Steering Group. We also applaud Papua New Guinea’s leadership to facilitate discussions among APEC fora and sub-fora on how they can contribute to the implementation of the Roadmap.

To continue to implement the Roadmap in a comprehensive manner and to provide a platform for future work, we commit that APEC will by the end of 2019:

  1. Prepare a comprehensive work program on future implementation of the Roadmap with contributions from committees and sub fora, as appropriate. This will examine the broad potential opportunities and challenges presented by digital technologies.
  2. Develop a program for future data and analytical support for work under the Roadmap. As a contribution to this work, the 2019 APEC Economic Policy Report will be prepared on the topic of Structural Reform and the Digital Economy;
  3. Develop any further areas of work that might be examined, given the Roadmap is a living document and the rapid development of digital technologies points to the potential for new topics to arise in the future.

We further commit to continuing to engage all relevant public and private sector stakeholders on this work.  In this respect, we applaud the contributions already made by the APEC Business Advisory Council and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.  It will also be important for APEC to build closer cooperation with the relevant fora in this field.

Finally, we reaffirm the central role of APEC Senior Officials, supported by the Digital Economy Steering Group, in taking this work forward, including monitoring and evaluating progress in relation to the implementation of the key focus areas by the relevant fora and sub fora.  We instruct Senior Officials to report on the achievement of these commitments when we meet in 2019.