1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yoon Soon-gu will attend the 16^th East Asia Forum (EAF) in Luang Prabang, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, on August 29 and 30 in his capacity as co-chair of the event. At the Forum, he will express the commitment of the Republic of Korea government to contribute to a sustainable development and prosperity in East Asia through its New Southern Policy.

° In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Yoon will take note of the role that the EAF and ASEAN+3 mechanisms have played toward the regional integration of East Asia; and underscore the need for close cooperation among relevant countries to safeguard the international free trade regime in the face of the lately growing tide of trade protectionism.

° In addition, the Deputy Minister will bring attention to the ROK government’s plan to step up cooperation on industrial technology between small- and medium-sized enterprises of ASEAN countries and the ROK, and to support ASEAN’s human capacity-building efforts through the ROK’s New Southern Policy; and will express the ROK government’s commitment to contributing to a sustainable development and prosperity of East Asia.

2. The forthcoming EAF themed “the promotion of sustainable development and prosperity in East Asia” will bring together some 50 delegates from the governments, businesses, and academic circles of the ten ASEAN member states, the ROK, the People's Republic of China and Japan.

° The Forum will cover “ways to improve regional integration and narrow the development gap: sharing experiences of ASEAN+3 countries,” “ways to arouse the spirit of entrepreneurs and develop human resources,” and “ways to promote development cooperation with a focus on innovation in the region.”

3. The EAF is the only track-1.5 forum in the region attended by representatives from governments, businesses and academic circles. The ROK government has been playing a leading role in running the mechanism, including by proposing in 2001 founding the Forum and by holding its inaugural session in 2003. Going forward, it will render strong support to the Forum in order for it to continue contributing to the establishment of an East Asian community.

* unofficial translation