1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the European External Action Service (EEAS), will host the second Republic of Korea-European Union International Conference on Middle Eastern and North African Affairs in Seoul on February 2 and 3.

2. At the conference, First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will deliver welcoming remarks. Former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan of Libya and former member of the EU Parliament Johannes Swoboda will give keynote speeches.

o At the conference, the participants will discuss in depth major pending issues in the Middle East and North Africa under the themes of “Conflicts and Coalitions in the Middle East”; “Syria, Iraq and ISIL”; “the Palestinian-Israeli Situation”; the “Rebirth of Libya and North Africa”; the “Future of Yemen”; and “Iran and the Gulf Security.”

3. The forthcoming conference, a track-1.5 meeting among government officials and academics, will bring together some 30 Middle East experts and government officials from home and abroad, including lawmaker Mustafa Barghouthi of Palestine, former parliament speaker Hajim Al-Hasssani of Iraq, professor Seyed Hossein Mousavian of Princeton University, Executive Director John Jenkins of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)–Middle East, Director Uzi Rabi of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, professor Lee Hee-soo of Hanyang University and professor In Nam-sik of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

◦ In the session on Yemen, major figures from both sides of the Yemeni conflict, including UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and incumbent Foreign Minister Abdel Malak Al-Mikhlafi as well as former Foreign Ministers Riad Yassin and Abubakr Al-Qirbi of Yemen, will actively discuss Yemen peace talks.

4. On the day before the conference, February 1, the fifth ROK-EU consultation on Middle East policy will take place based on the bilateral strategic partnership. By doing so, the ROK will take an active part along with the EU in the discussions on ways to support peace in the Middle East, one of the main global issues.

5. The upcoming international conference, as a platform for in-depth discussions on the situation in the Middle East, is expected to help build networks with Middle East experts from major countries; to highlight the ROK’s contributions to the international community for peace and stability in the Middle East; and to contribute to the promotion of the cooperative ties between the ROK and the Middle East.


* unofficial translation