1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chung Byung-won attended as head delegate of the Republic of Korea the 21^st East Asia Forum (EAF) held in Yuxi, the Chinese province of Yunnan, on October 29. The Forum was held under the theme of “Joining Hands to Create New Development Opportunities for Shared Peace and Prosperity in East Asia.”

2. Deputy Minister Chung commended the EAF for playing an important role over the past 20 years as the key regional forum bringing together representatives from the governments, business circles and academias of the ROK, Japan, China and the ten member states of ASEAN (ASEAN Plus Three / ASEAN+3).

3. Deputy Minister Chung explained the ROK government’s plan to deepen its ties with ASEAN in line with the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI) and, in particular, upgrade its relations with ASEAN to an ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership next year, which marks the 35^th anniversary of the establishment of ROK-ASEAN dialogue relations. He went on to stress that the ROK, as the coordinator of the Plus Three countries of the ASEAN Plus Three platform, is making efforts to reinvigorate trilateral cooperation among the three Northeast Asian countries.

4. The participants drew a common understanding that ASEAN+3, as a platform for substantive cooperation in East Asia, has contributed to stability and sustainable growth of the region, and underscored the need for united efforts to resolve current global issues confronting the world, including geopolitical tension, the climate crisis and the financial instability.

5. Deputy Minister Chung, saying that ASEAN+3 has responded effectively to various challenges in the region, presented specific ways that the ROK will contribute to the sustainable development of ASEAN in terms of seeking greater regional resilience, promoting greater cooperation in future and emerging areas, and nurturing young talents.

6. With regard to seeking greater regional resilience, Deputy Minister Chung stated that the ROK will support food security and response to climate change, as demonstrated by its commitment to doubling its annual contribution to the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and its proposal for the launch of the Partnership for ASEAN-ROK Methane Action (PARMA) and the Carbon Free Alliance (CFA). He went on to suggest promoting a sustainable financial eco-system through the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) among the ASEAN+3 member states for the provision of liquidity support and through the ASEAN-ROK Financial Cooperation Centre.

7. With respect to promoting greater cooperation in future and emerging areas to secure sustainable growth momentum, Deputy Minister Chung highlighted the importance of the adopted ASEAN+3 Leaders’ Statement on Developing of Electric Vehicle Ecosystem and the ASEAN-ROK Smart Mobility Cooperation Strategy to be adopted at the upcoming bilateral Transport Ministers’ Meeting in November. In that light, he expressed hope that the ROK-ASEAN Digital Innovation Flagship Project, which will be implemented as one of the key projects of KASI, will contribute to paving the way for digital cooperation in the region.

8. In terms of nurturing young talents, Deputy Minister Chung, calling youth the drivers of innovation and growth, explained the ROK’s plan to host an ROK-United States-ASEAN Youth Camp for ASEAN Friends Engagement in November and a project of the ASEAN+3 Center for the Gifted in Science(ACGS) in the ROK in December respectively. On that note, he proposed promoting exchanges among young talents through the CAMPUS Asia programs among colleges of the ASEAN+3 countries.

9. Deputy Minister Chung also took the opportunity of the Forum to explain the joint efforts of the ROK’s public and private sectors for the ROK to host World Expo 2030 in Busan, and asked for the Forum-participating countries’ interest and support to ensure that the Busan World Expo, if held, evolves into a lasting platform for global solidarity for addressing common challenges of the world as well as a platform for sustainable cooperation.