DPM Hong Meets with ASEAN Ambassadors to Korea
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki met with ASEAN ambassadors to Korea on November 15 in Busan, where the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit and the 1st Mekong-Republic of Korea Summit are scheduled to be held on Nov 25-26 and Nov 27 respectively. At the meeting, DPM Hong and ASEAN ambassadors discussed Korea’s economic policies and ways to enhance Korea-ASEAN economic cooperation.
In his remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Hong said that Korea-ASEAN relations have developed dramatically since the two sides established dialogue relations 30 years ago, and expected the ties to become closer thanks to their complementary economic structures, similar cultural backgrounds and geographical proximity.
At the meeting, DPM Hong emphasized four strategies for the co-prosperity of Korea and ASEAN:
1) Stability: establish institutional foundations such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), government-level cooperation channels and financial cooperation platforms to ensure stable trade and investment in the private sector
2) Solidity: strengthen existing cooperation through Korea’s global production networks and by sharing Korea’s development experiences
3) Smart innovation: identify new growth engines in the 4th Industrial Revolution era through cooperation in smart cities, ICT and among startups)
4) Sustainable cooperation: secure stable financing through official development assistance (ODA) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects
Deputy Prime Minister Hong expressed his hope that the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit will serve as a starting point for the two sides to usher in a new future, and asked the ambassadors to play active roles in further strengthening Korea-ASEAN economic ties.
