1. The 13^th meeting of the Republic of Korea-Russian Federation Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation took place in Moscow, Russia, on November 22 to discuss ways to step up environmental cooperation between the two countries. In conjunction with the Joint Committee meeting came on November 21 the fifth meeting of the Joint Committee’s subcommittee on the conservation of endangered wildlife species.

° The ROK and Russian head delegates to the Joint Committee meeting were Director-General for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Scientific Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kwon Sei-joong and Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment INAMOV Nuritdin, respectively.

※ The ROK delegation was composed of 14 people, including officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, as well as experts from other relevant organizations. The Russian side was comprised of officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and experts from provincial government agencies, 23 in total.

2. In the Joint Committee meeting, the two countries shared with each other their domestic environmental policies; discussed ways to work more closely together in the full range of relevant areas, including ecosystems, environmental industry, air pollution and marine environment; and reviewed a total of 17 projects as well as six newly proposed ones.

° Having reached a bilateral working-level accord on the proposed revision to the list of the migrant bird species for protection, the two countries agreed to undergo their respective domestic procedures for the revision and to complete the revision work before the end of the first half of the year 2019.

° The two sides, taking note of the successful completion in November 2017 of the project to establish Russia’s waste management master plan, agreed to continue consultations on follow-up projects through which to step up bilateral cooperation on waste management.

° At the Joint Committee meeting, the two countries proposed a combined six new projects, out of which two put forward by the ROK -- a pilot project designed to expedite the supply of natural gas vehicles to Belgorod and Rostov and another project for air quality improvement in Kemerovo -- were adopted. Going forward, the two countries will continue working together on environmental industry and air pollution.

° The two countries discussed procedural issues regarding the Russian government's exploration permit required for the joint international research on gas hydrates in waters near the Russian Far East -- an ROK-Russia cooperation project in the area of marine environment; and agreed to continue joint research in the field with swift cooperation of the government of the Russian Federation.

3. The two sides also exchanged views on ways to pursue environmental cooperation at regional and global levels in a bid to resolve air and marine pollution issues in Northeast Asia, including pursuant to the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

° The ROK delegation, in particular, extended appreciation to the Russian government for making efforts and expressing support for the launch of the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) at the NEASPEC Senior Officials’ Meeting in October. The two sides agreed to seek ways to work with each other toward tangible progress in that regard.

4. The meeting of the ROK-Russia Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation has been held in the two countries on a rotational basis since 1995 (annually since 2013, biennially before then) pursuant to the “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Field of Environment” concluded in 1994 to pursue substantive environmental cooperation between the two countries.

* unofficial translation