SEOUL, ROK, 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.

Heads of delegations and H.E. Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy, ROK (front row, 7th L), APO Director for the ROK (front row, 8th L), and APO Secretary-General (front row, 9th L) at the 66th WSM.

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. He called for stronger collaboration to maintain the APO as a central platform 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. The Secretariat stands ready to listen to and translate members’ strategic intent into programs with measurable results.” 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 such as demographic shifts, climate change, and resource imbalances.

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 linking regional priorities with national action. He stressed inclusiveness and tailored support to ensure that productivity gains benefit all members, large and small, including SMEs and underrepresented groups, while strengthening NPO capacities to translate regional goals into concrete, country-specific results.

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, reaffirming the APO’s commitment to quality and sustainable growth.

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, and an SPP rollout starting in November 2025. The meeting focused on strategic outcomes for member economies to strengthen their capacity to design and implement productivity-focused strategies, policies, and interventions aligned with national development goals guided by Vision 2030’s result-based approach to innovation, inclusiveness, and sustainability in the region.