TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — According to the U.S. Department of State website, a series of meetings in Palm Springs, Detroit, and Seattle, are planned for this year, bringing many different levels of government together to discuss matters of global trade, sustainability, and climate change.

This year’s first APEC meeting will be hosted in Palm Springs, California from Feb.14-28, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of International Organizations Director General Sharon Wu (吳尚年). The event is billed as the "First Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM1) and Related Meetings."

Wu added that the Taiwan delegation will be led by herself as well as Deputy Finance Minister Juan Ching-hwa (阮清華), and the vice president of the Central Bank will attend the meeting, as per CNA.

Wu said at a MOFA press conference on Feb. 7 that this year's APEC conference's theme is "creating a resilient and sustainable future for all parties," and priority is given to areas of special interest such as "interconnection," "innovation," and "inclusion."

Wu said there will be some 100 related meetings held over a two-week period, discussing a wide range of topics, covering trade and investment, food security, marine fisheries, anti-corruption and transparency, illegal logging, digital economy, women and the economy, telecommunications, health, technology, and innovation issues.

According to Wu, Taiwan has registered participants to attend all relevant APEC meetings, with representatives from each organization getting a chance to exchange views and seek opportunities for cooperation.

Wu added there will be three more APEC meetings this year, a "Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2), Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, and Related Meeting" in Detroit which will be held in May, and the "Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3), Women and the Economy Forum, and Related Meetings," held in Seattle in August. And finally, the "APEC Economic Leaders’ Week" will be held in San Francisco sometime in November (date yet to be decided).