1. The Korea National Diplomatic Academy (Chancellor: Cho Byung-jae) will host an international academic conference under the theme “Korea’s New Southern Policy: Visions, Strategies and Ways Forward” at the KNDA in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on July 3.

2. At the conference, renowned experts from academia and think tanks in ASEAN member states and India will discuss ways to effectively implement the New Southern Policy, and propose policy measures.

3. The conference will be attended by Singaporean Ambassador Ong Keng Yong (currently Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University), who served as the ASEAN Secretary-General, President Nguyen Vu Tung of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, a key think tank in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, and Executive Director Rahimah Abdulrahim of the Habibie Center, a leading private institute in Indonesia.

4. Participants from India include Chairman Sunjoy Joshi of the Observer Research Foundation, a leading private think tank in India, and Professor at the Center for Policy Research Brahma Chellaney, an international politics expert who served as advisor at the National Security Council of India. They will give their opinions on ways to strengthen cooperation between the ROK and India.

5. Among participants from academia at home are Professor Emeritus Yoon Young-kwan at Seoul National University (former Foreign Minister), Professor Choi Young-jong at the Catholic University of Korea (former President of the Korean Association of International Studies), Professor Choe Won-gi at the Center for ASEAN-Indian Studies of the KNDA, and Senior Research Fellow Lee Jae-hyon of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Head of the task force on the New Southern Policy Park Jae-kyung of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a panel presentation on the progress in efforts to implement the New Southern Policy.

6. The international conference will also feature a roundtable for ambassadors of ASEAN member states and India to the ROK, including Ambassador of Singapore Yip Wei Kiat, Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Vu Tu, Ambassador of Indonesia Umar Hadi, Ambassador of Thailand Singtong Lapisatepun, and Deputy Ambassador of India Satish Kumar Sivan. They will present their views on ways to effectively carry out the New Southern Policy.

7. The upcoming conference hosted by the Center for ASEAN-Indian Studies of the KNDA, which opened in February this year, is expected to serve as an opportunity to help people at home and abroad better understand the Moon Jae-in government’s New Southern Policy, and set forth ways to increase substantive cooperation with ASEAN and India.

* unofficial translation