Closing Remarks
by
H.E. Cho Tae-yul
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Republic of Korea

The 2013 International Conference on
Global Cooperation in the Era of Eurasia

October 18, 2013
The Shilla Seoul

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests and Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honor and privilege for me to address the closing session of the 2013 International Conference on Global Cooperation in the Era of Eurasia. I am pleased with the successful conclusion of the conference. And I would like to thank all of you for your active participation in the discussions on the implications of the Eurasian age looming on the horizon as well as challenges and opportunities in seeking a vision for Eurasian cooperation in the 21st century.

The Ancient Silk Road and Eurasia

The Eurasian history has been the history of meeting challenges in our journey toward better communication between the eastern and western civilizations. Although Asia and Europe are separated by the world’s harshest geographical conditions -- blazing deserts and rugged highlands -- our forefathers did not relent.

It was almost 2,000 years ago that the East and the West were connected by the 4,000 mile-long Silk Road. And since then, merchants and explorers such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta walked across the road. Seeds of civilization were disseminated to all corners of the world through this road, and, in turn, contributed to the development of civilizations worldwide.

However, during the past hundreds of years, we have ceased to think about the significance of the Silk Road. Political and religious divisions and the ideological barriers in our recent history led us to forget the efforts of our ancestors to connect the east and the west.

Today, we are dreaming of a Silk Road renaissance. The wall of ideologies that had once divided Eurasia came down with the collapse of the Cold War, and geographical distances lost meaning due to globalization and the development of science and technology. The Silk Road of the 21st century that connects East Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe advancing a common prosperity is the grand dream that our generation must and could realize.

Vision of Eurasian Cooperation

With this grand dream in mind, we have held extensive discussions today on a wide range of issues that have been emerging on the horizon of the Eurasian era. We have reaffirmed the historical bonds among the countries in Eurasia, while sharing the vision for cooperation in the forthcoming Eurasian age. We have also held in-depth discussions on the obstacles and bottlenecks preventing greater cooperation in the region and the ways and means to overcome them.

Some of our prized assets in Eurasia are abundant human and natural resources, a pioneer spirit for growth and experiences, and state-of-the-art science and technology.  We agreed to use these assets to create jobs and enhance growth engines by increasing the density and quality of the regional value chain. The vision of a common market for Eurasia has also been proposed where people, products and commodities as well as investment move around freely throughout the region.

We are now more convinced that, working together, we could effectively address the issue of food security by transforming unexplored areas into fertile lands of grain. We agreed on the need to work more closely to ensure a stable supply and demand of energy in Eurasia by developing natural resources in the region how harsh its environmental condition may be.

Commitments were also made to assist the economic growth of countries in need of industrial diversification, as well as to share development experiences in the areas of eradicating poverty, providing education and expanding infrastructure, among others. In addition, a more concrete proposal such as the Silk Road Express (SRX) initiative was made as a way to strengthen the people-to-people and physical connectivity for integrating a divided Eurasia. And many participants agreed on the feasibility of such a network of logistics and transportation.

In Northeast Asia, however, the remnants of the Cold War still remain, while security threats and conflicts over historical and territorial issues act as barriers to regional cooperation. And such destabilizing factors can undermine the enormous potential for cooperation in Eurasia.

Many experts on security issues in Northeast Asia shared this view and provided some constructive advices which I believe will help the Park Geun-hye Government to carry out its Initiative for Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia, an initiative to build an infrastructure of trust in the region by accumulating small but significant interactions in softer cooperative issues. I sincerely hope the countries in the region will come together to embark on projects that will dismantle the barriers created by security concerns and signal the start of the Eurasian era.

Conclusion

Distinguished Guests,

According to an old saying in Central Asia, “The friendship between two persons can help to jump over a mountain, while the friendship between two nations can help to jump over the Heavenly Mountain.” The people of Eurasia already experienced in the past crossing the Silk Road climbing the high and steep peaks of the Pamir Highlands.

The Park Geun-hye Government’s policy for enhancing cooperation in Eurasia aims to rediscover the very strength of our friendship that will help us to jump over the Heavenly Mountain.

I hope the creative ideas and forward looking proposals that have been made at this conference  including, in particular, the Eurasian Initiative proposed by President Park in her opening remarks this morning will be realized based on trust deeply rooted in our historical bonds. With this positive note, I would like to conclude my remarks by thanking you once again for sharing your insight and wisdom to usher in the era of Eurasia of the 21st century. 

Thank you very much. /END/