‘AFoCO’ Elevated to International Organization... Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea Forest Service Expect Strengthened New Southern Policy Implementation

Participants are taking a commemorative photo at the briefing session held last July, which invited embassies in Korea to expand the international activities of the Asia Forest Cooperation Organization. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) has been elevated to an international organization.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Forest Service on the 16th, AFoCO obtained observer status at the United Nations General Assembly as of the previous day (U.S. local time).

With the acquisition of observer status at the UN General Assembly, AFoCO is expected to participate in discussions on sustainable development and green growth at the UN level, thereby expanding its scope as an international organization and enhancing its competitiveness.

In particular, through forest-related UN bodies such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, AFoCO is expected to gain strength in attracting international attention and support for forests in the Asian region.

Additionally, the Korea Forest Service anticipates that, given all ASEAN member countries participate in AFoCO, the acquisition of observer status at the UN General Assembly will serve as a stepping stone to further strengthen the implementation of the New Southern Policy in the forestry sector.

Earlier, since June, the government has been working with the AFoCO Secretariat and member countries to secure AFoCO’s observer status at the UN General Assembly.

First, the Permanent Mission to the UN continued negotiations locally to secure support from UN member states for the resolution concerning AFoCO’s acquisition of observer status at the UN General Assembly.

In addition, in July, the Korea Forest Service held a briefing session to promote the necessity of AFoCO obtaining observer status at the UN General Assembly, targeting AFoCO member country ambassadors to Korea and international organizations, requesting their support.

As a result, the resolution for AFoCO’s acquisition of observer status at the UN General Assembly was passed unanimously at the 6th Committee of the UN General Assembly held on the 19th of last month, and subsequently, the related resolution was finally adopted at the UN General Assembly plenary session held on the 15th of this month, according to the Korea Forest Service.

Meanwhile, AFoCO is an international organization established under the leadership of the Korean government to respond to global forest issues such as climate change and forest restoration and to strengthen cooperation in the forestry sector among Asian countries, with its secretariat located in Seoul.

Currently, AFoCO has 13 member countries including Korea, Vietnam, East Timor, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

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