PH's APEC edge: Demographic dividend and digital advantage

When the APEC Economic Leaders gathered in South Korea last week, they did more than simply review trade and investment flows.

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Through the newly-adopted 2025 APEC Leaders' Gyeongju Declaration, the 21-member economies signaled a regional shift: from conventional trade-led growth to one oriented around technology, connectivity, and demographic vitality. For the Philippines, this moment offers a dual opportunity: to harness technology as a lever of inclusive growth, and to capitalize on our demographic advantage, while aligning our strategy with the region's evolving priorities.

Firstly, the Gyeongju Declaration places digital transformation and frontier technologies at the heart of its vision. It calls for preparing the region “for the digital and Al transformation” and for building “the world’s most dynamic and interconnected regional economy.” This signals that the future growth of the Asia-Pacific will pivot not just on goods and trade corridors, but on how well economies adopt, adapt, and govern new technologies—and crucially, how citizens benefit from them.