Regular Meeting on ASEAN and Mekong Held... Discussing Cooperation Plans with Five Mekong Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Despite difficulties in overseas business trips and face-to-face meetings due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), two consecutive video conferences marking the official start of diplomatic schedules related to ASEAN and Mekong were held.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 'Mekong Friendly Countries Senior Officials Meeting (FLM SOM),' co-hosted by the United States and Vietnam to mutually discuss cooperation measures with the five Mekong countries, was held on the 2nd. Participants shared information related to Mekong cooperation and exchanged in-depth opinions on ways to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of cooperation within the FLM going forward.

Park Jae-kyung, Director-General of the ASEAN Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attended as South Korea's chief representative, explained that the Korean government has continuously sought win-win prosperity measures with ASEAN and Mekong through the New Southern Policy, and that the 2019 '1st Korea-Mekong Summit' created a new turning point for Mekong cooperation.

In particular, as a result of the 1st Korea-Mekong Summit, agreements were made to establish the 'Korea-Mekong Biodiversity Center' and the 'Korea-Mekong Business Council,' and the 'Korea-Mekong Future Peace Community Creation Project' for achieving long-term peace in the Mekong region is being actively promoted.

He also mentioned that South Korea has supported Mekong countries with an amount equivalent to 20% of the total official development assistance (ODA), both concessional and non-concessional, and as of 2020, contributed $14 million to the 'Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund' and $3 million to the 'Korea-Mekong Cooperation Fund.'

Director-General Park emphasized the importance of mutually sharing information on Mekong cooperation projects among regional countries and expanding opportunities for public-private consultations to enhance the efficiency of FLM cooperation. He also proposed promoting the discovery of new cooperation areas to respond to the changing security environment. In this regard, the government explained that it is seeking sustainable development and green growth measures for the post-COVID-19 era through a 'Green New Deal' centered on the environment and people.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) working-level meeting was held with the attendance of most of the 27 member countries except for some including North Korea, reviewing ARF activities and exchanging opinions on future plans.

Jeong E-hye, Director of the ASEAN Division who attended as South Korea's chief representative, expressed hope for the prompt resumption of ARF face-to-face activities for regional peace and stability, emphasizing that cooperation measures on new security issues such as ICT security should also be actively discussed. Additionally, participating countries exchanged frank and in-depth opinions on regional security issues such as maritime security, terrorism, and disaster relief.

Starting with the FLM SOM and ARF working-level meetings held on the 2nd, the Korean government plans to proactively participate in major diplomatic schedules over the next month, including high-level meetings and foreign ministers' meetings related to ASEAN such as Korea-ASEAN, Korea-Mekong, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit, and ARF, to continuously strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries, the core region of the New Southern Policy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.