SEOUL, October 27. /TASS/. The first day of the final meeting of APEC senior officials was held in Gyeongju, South Korea, the organizers of the forum said on their website.

"Under this year’s theme, 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper' we have advanced meaningful discussions and made concrete progress across various initiatives, advancing APEC’s vision of an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community," said ambassador Yoon Seong-mee, Chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials Meeting.

The meeting of senior officials of the 21 economies of the region is taking place on October 27-28 and represents, as the organizers pointed out, the "final push" before the APEC ministerial meeting and the APEC summit, which will also be held this week. "Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, economies are seeking common ground on global issues that could shape the region’s future growth and cooperation," the organizers of the forum noted.

This year, the APEC discussed ways to reduce "paperless trade," approaches to the use of artificial intelligence, as well as health issues.

"Now, as we enter the season of harvest, we face the important task of concluding the discussions of APEC 2025 and preparing to translate them into tangible outcomes," Yoon Song Mi said.

The senior officials will formulate final recommendations for the ministers of the association's members, which relate to the annual reports of APEC's relevant committees.

Russia is represented at the meeting by ambassador-at-large of the Foreign Ministry Marat Berdyyev.

"Together with a wide range of like-minded people, we are determined to confirm APEC’s role as a purely economic forum designed to promote international cooperation and remove obstacles to productive communication between business, academia and interpersonal contacts," he said in his telegram channel earlier.