Korean government expects its relationship with region will expand, deepen

To mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Asean - ROK dialogue partnership, the government of ROK will host the Asean - ROK Commemorative Summit in Busan on December 11-12. Top leaders of the 10 Asean member countries will be invited to the summit. 

 

“I believe our relationship and friendship will continue to improve as both sides are profoundly interested in carrying this partnership forward into the future. I ultimately hope that cooperation between the regions will expand and deepen through the summit,” said Suh Jeong-in, Director-General of the South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

The over-arching theme of the Commemorative Summit is “Building Trust, bringing Happiness”. This theme demonstrates how Korea envisions the future of ROK-Asean relationship, he said. 

 

Suh said President Park Geun-hye has summed up the role Korea would like to play in Asean's future, which is to become a reliable partner in bringing happiness on the basis of deepening trust. 

 

“Happiness is a broad term, encompassing all the key concepts such as security, safety, prosperity, in short all the conditions which are necessary for the people of Asean to thrive and fulfil their aspirations,” Suh said.

 

He said the summit will present a comprehensive blueprint to realise this goal. 

 

There will be specific measures and actions that need to be outlined to help us become partners sharing in happiness and forging deeper trust, including an outcome document that assesses and builds on the Asean-ROK cooperation projects, as well as a Vision Statement that will focus on future-oriented cooperation between our regions, he said.

 

“We expect the summit to not only look back at the past 25 years of relations between the two regions, but also to chart out the future direction for the next 25 years,” Suh said. 

 

He said this will gain momentum as Asean moves toward the launch of the Asean Community next year, as there will be more areas and ways for collaboration.

 

ROK-Asean had a special summit in 2009 in Jeju to commemorate the 20th anniversary, but Suh believed both regions have seen an unprecedented deepening of cooperation in the last five years, hence it is timely to assess how far they have come, celebrate their achievements and chart a new course on the basis of a shared common vision.

 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Busan Metropolitan City Government are working closely on the preparation process for the summit and are also cooperating with the Asean member states to host a successful summit, Suh said. 

 

“We will be talking with Asean to make sure the summit produces a solid plan for the future,” he said.

 

However, the list of Asean leaders, including Thailand, to be invited to attend the summit have not been finalised, he said. 

 

If the two sides agree to have a bilateral meeting, Thailand and the ROK will engage in further discussions, he said.

 

During the summit, there will be a number of side events, including a CEO Summit, exhibitions showcasing administrative best practices between ROK and Asean as well as photo exhibition of leaders of Asean involved in ROK-Asean activities, and a performance by the ROK-Asean youth orchestra. A variety of spouse events are also being planned, including a visit to a motion picture studio in Busan, and anAsia Arts exhibition.