On 24 December 2025, APO Director for Japan Misako Takahashi, Ambassador for Climate Change, Deputy Assistant Minister/ Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formalized Japan’s Strategic Partnership Program (SPP) with APO Secretary-General Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata through the signing of Japan’s SPP Primer. The signing was concluded during Director Takahashi’s maiden visit to the APO Secretariat, following her appointment as APO Director for Japan on 22 December 2025.

During the meeting, Secretary-General Dr. Indra and APO Director Takahashi discussed the gradual evolution of APO’s services over the years towards member-driven, tailored SPPs to achieve greater impact and effectiveness.

Japan’s SPP with the APO extends the longstanding cooperation on Green Productivity (GP) 2.0, and breaks new ground in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) through the Genuine Artificial Intelligence (GAIA) platform planned for launch in 2026. Over the next three years, the APO will work closely with Japan to implement the SPP, which centers on GP, digital transformation, and AI, providing support to APO members through targeted technical cooperation, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and capacity-building activities that are aligned with Vision 2030.