1. The Foreign Ministry has been hosting international conferences on energy and leading discussions on energy-related issues in the Asia-Pacific region in a bid to enhance the standing of the Republic of Korea in the energy market of the region. As part of such efforts, the ROK will host a Pacific Energy Summit, one of the renowned international energy forums in Northeast Asia.

° The Pacific Energy Summit is an invitation-only high-level forum among energy experts from the Asia-Pacific region organized by the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) of the US. The forthcoming summit, the fifth of its kind, will be co-organized by the NBR and the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI).

- Date and Venue: June 30 – July 1, JW Marriott Hotel, Seoul
- Theme: Charting the Course to a Secure and Cleaner Energy Future

2. Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul will deliver a keynote speech to highlight the importance of achieving nuclear safety and the bridging role of natural gas for a secure and cleaner energy future; to reaffirm the need for all the stakeholders to work together for a sustainable energy future; and to explain the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative and the Eurasia initiative being pursued by the ROK government.

3. The forum will consist of seven sessions and two roundtables. The key sessions will cover energy issues and policies in Northeast Asia; ways to enhance regional cooperation on nuclear safety in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident; and the implications of the large-scale gas contract between Russia and China for Northeast Asia amid the unrest in Ukraine.

° Achieving nuclear safety, one of the ROK government’s policy tasks, will be discussed twice at the forum.

° The Russia-China gas contract is forecast to make Russia the game changer in the Northeast Asian gas market, as the US shale-gas is. As such, the deal is expected to be an important topic for discussion at the forum.

4. The summit is expected to play a role in stepping up cooperation among countries in Northeast Asia to bolster energy security in the region, the world’s largest energy consumer. In particular, the discussions among energy experts from the region on regional energy cooperation are expected to provide an important framework for the implementation of the ROK government’s Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative.

5. The forthcoming meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity for intensive discussions on a variety of relevant topics among some 200 figures, including relevant high-level government officials and those from energy industry, from the Asia-Pacific region. The key participants will include Luvsanvandan Bold, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Mongolia; Taro Kono, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan; Thein Lwin, Secretary of the Pyithu Hluttaw Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Committee of Myanmar; Satya Yudha, a member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia; Susilo Siswoutomo, Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia; Ith Prang, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy of Cambodia; Sung Kim, US Ambassador to the ROK; Robert Boudreau, Director for International Nuclear Energy Policy and Cooperation of the US Department of Energy; Melody Meyer, President of Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company; Steve Lidisky, President of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development Inc.; and Jang Seok-hyo, President & CEO of the Korea Gas Corporation. 


                              Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation