66th WSM in Seoul Discusses Strategic Transformation under the APO Vision 2030

SEOUL, ROK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--28–30 October 2025. The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) convened its 66th Workshop Meeting of Heads of National Productivity Organizations (WSM) in Seoul on 28 October. Delegates from 19 APO members shared insights on the Strategic Partnership Program (SPP) and agreed to operationalize the APO Vision 2030, advancing the transformation from a project-based into a result-driven, member-led organization.

In the Inaugural Address, APO Director for the ROK and Chair of the Korea Productivity Center Dr. Park Sungjoong highlighted the significance of the 66th WSM as the first formal discussion of the APO’s Vision 2030 and called for stronger collaboration for sustainable productivity and inclusive growth in the region. APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata stated, “The APO has accelerated work on three core platforms since the WSM in 2024: Vision 2030 implementation through the SPP; Green Productivity (GP) 2.0; and accreditation and quality assurance to strengthen national productivity ecosystems.” In his Welcome Remarks, H.E. Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy Lee Seung Ryul, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, Government of the ROK, underscored productivity’s role in addressing emerging socioeconomic challenges.

In a statement conveyed through NPO Delegate from India Neerja Sekhar, APO Chair 2025–26 Amardeep Singh Bhatia congratulated APO members, NPO Heads, and relevant stakeholders on the APO Governing Body (GB)’s endorsement of the Vision 2030 strategy and operationalization documents. He described Vision 2030 as a bold, forward-looking roadmap introducing a result-based management approach, four interlinked strategic pillars, and a clear implementation pathway. The Secretariat reports on the 2024 Annual Project Review, APO Vision 2030 Strategy and Operationalization, and SPP highlighted the APO’s collective achievements, lessons learned, and progress made in implementing programs and shaping the APO Vision 2030. Representatives from the UN International Labour Organization, World Bank International Finance Corporation, and Asian Development Bank featured their country-specific programs to enlighten delegates on practical approaches to planning based on members’ needs.

Day 2 centered on SPP Primers, with NPO delegates from Fiji and Indonesia sharing their approaches, and the Secretariat’s SPP Team facilitating the APO SPP Primer Workshop, where delegates drafted 2026–28 country primers covering national contexts, strategic focus areas, and key results, with outputs displayed on a live Productivity Dashboard. Updates from the Secretariat included the progress of the GP 2.0 ecosystem and preview of the GP Mapping Dashboard. In a certificate conferment ceremony, delegates from Bangladesh, Singapore, and Vietnam received accreditation certificates from Secretary-General Dr. Indra in his capacity as Chair of the APO Accreditation Body.

The 66th WSM marked a significant milestone and concluded with a consensus to shift to need-based, member-led programming under the APO Vision 2030, supported by pillar‑level budgeting and a streamlined two‑track governance flow between the GB and WSM, with an SPP rollout starting in November 2025.

About the APO

The APO is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving productivity and socioeconomic development in the Asia-Pacific region through policy advisory services, capacity-building initiatives, knowledge sharing, and cooperation. It is nonpolitical, nonprofit, and nondiscriminatory.

Established in 1961 with eight founding members, the APO currently comprises 21 member economies.