Park Jin: "We Will Expand Diplomatic Horizons by Strengthening Cooperation with Pacific Island Countries"

First Interdepartmental Meeting Held for Next Year's 'Korea-Thailand Defense Ministers' Summit'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Foreign Minister Park Jin stated, "From now on, we will drastically upgrade cooperation with Pacific Island countries to open a new horizon for our diplomacy."

Minister Park made these remarks on the afternoon of the 21st while presiding over the '1st Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit Preparatory Committee' held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu. He said, "The Pacific Island countries, located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, are key cooperative partners at the center of our Indo-Pacific strategy."

The meeting was organized to establish the direction for promoting the first Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit to be held in Korea next year and to identify specific achievement projects.

Minister Park proposed, "For the success of next year's summit, it is important to find and expand points of convergence between our Indo-Pacific strategy and the '2050 Blue Pacific Strategy.' Specifically, approaches are possible in four areas: development cooperation, climate change, maritime fisheries, and human and cultural exchanges."

The '2050 Blue Pacific Continent Strategy,' a long-term development strategy for the Pacific region, consists of the vision that Pacific Island countries aim to achieve by 2050 (achieving safety, peace, prosperity, and resilience in the Pacific region) and seven key focus areas to realize this vision. It was officially adopted at the 51st PIF Summit held last July.

Minister Park added, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expects that strengthening various cooperation with Pacific Island countries will expand the horizon of our diplomacy, which aims to be a global pivotal state contributing to freedom, peace, and prosperity. Furthermore, we will strive to make this an important opportunity to secure future growth engines for the economy."

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