When Indonesia and other APEC leaders proclaimed the Bogor Goals on Nov. 16, 1994, it was with the hope of bringing together the aspirations of the people in both developing and developed economies. It was launched and the target was set for 2020 to overcome the challenges of that time: globalization.

Since the inception of the Bogor Goals, APEC economies have enjoyed great progress in increasing trade and investment while reducing poverty.

APEC’s total merchandise trade almost quintupled between 1994 and 2019 from US$4.1 trillion to $19 trillion at an average growth of 6.7 percent per year. A trend that also existed among APEC economies was to create a more favorable environment for investment and job creation. APEC saw a declining poverty trend in the dropping number of poor people from 1.4 billion in 1994 to 240.4 million people in 2018.

Through their commitment to the Bogor Goals, APEC members recognize that the successful growth and development of their economies rely on the openness and stability of global and regional markets.

For the past couple of years, however, some economies have used APEC not as an engine of collective growth, but to project power and limited interest, thus diverting the course of cooperation in the grouping.

Instead of moving in unison to higher levels of regional economic cooperation and growth, diverging views have prevented deeper collaboration and sent an unclear message to the world. The increasing tension and strife between major economies have run contrary to the APEC spirit.

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