Bay Area Council Hails Selection of San Francisco for Major Asia-Pacific Economic Leadership Summit

The Bay Area Council hailed the announcement today (Nov. 18) that San Francisco will host the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, convening heads of state and other top leaders from 21 economies spanning the Asia-Pacific region to chart a course for continuing economic cooperation, resilience and sustainability. The Bay Area Council partnered with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her Administration in advocating for the city’s selection.

“As the nation’s shining gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, San Francisco and the Bay Area are the ideal choice to host this important leadership summit,” said Jim Wunderman, Bay Area Council President and CEO. “I’m thrilled and absolutely ecstatic that San Francisco will play host to the Asia-Pacific region’s top leaders as they chart a course for greater economic opportunity and cooperation. This selection represents a ringing endorsement of San Francisco as a place of unmatched global connections, dynamic economic activity and rich cultural vibrancy. I want to applaud San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her entire Administration for their great work in securing the APEC Summit. We look forward to working with Mayor Breed and leveraging the Bay Area Council’s deep experience in hosting and organizing major global events to make the 2023 APEC Summit a smashing success. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis also deserves thanks for her leadership in promoting California to the world.”

Wunderman also extended thanks to Dominic Ng, Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, and President Biden’s appointee as 2023 Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

Said Ng: “I’m thrilled that San Francisco was selected to host APEC next November. As one of the most significant cultural, commercial, and financial hubs in the United States, San Francisco is a great choice for a gathering of economic leaders from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. As ABAC Chair, I look forward to working closely with the Biden Administration, the State of California, and the City of San Francisco on a successful APEC in 2023.” 

Since hosting the signing of the first United Nations charter in 1945, the same year the Bay Area Council was established, San Francisco has welcomed leaders from around the world focused on addressing our biggest challenges.

The Bay Area Council has a long history of working closely with APEC. In September 2011, in the leadup to the APEC Summit in Honolulu, the Bay Area Council hosted the APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM3) in San Francisco. That successful multi-day event included both the APEC Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference, and the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy led by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Not long after, in 2016, the Bay Area Council and other partners hosted the inaugural Mission Innovation Ministerial conference in San Francisco, welcoming ministers from more than 20 countries and the European Union and coinciding with the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial conference (CEM7) featuring former U.S. Energy Sec. Ernest Moniz. Reflecting the region’s status as a global hub of the clean energy industry, that meeting included working ministerial sessions, public-private roundtables, and a clean technology showcase.

“The APEC Summit will further cement San Francisco and the Bay Area as a global center for advancing economic connections and vitality throughout the Pacific Rim,” said Sean Randolph, Senior Director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute who healed lead the Council’s advocacy in promoting San Francisco as the host city. “This is not only a great honor but well-deserved recognition for the important role San Francisco and the Bay Area play in the Asia-Pacific region.”