TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan wants to upgrade its participation at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting to discuss changes in population structures and AI cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The third Senior Officials’ Meeting of the year is scheduled for July 26 to Aug. 15 in Incheon, South Korea, per CNA. At the same time, APEC plans to convene its High-Level Dialogue of Anti-Corruption Cooperation, Digital Ministerial Meeting, Food Security Ministerial Meeting, and Women and the Economy Forum.

Taiwan will form a “Team of Teams” of government bodies and private groups to maximize the effectiveness of its participation in this year’s APEC event, said Chang Chih-sha (張芝颯), the deputy director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Organizations. She said the size of the delegation also showed the importance Taiwan assigned to APEC.

The regional group is the most important international regional organization Taiwan participates in, Chang said. Each year, about 40 government departments take part in APEC meetings and activities.