The
Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia's five Mekong River nations agreed on new
priority areas of cooperation to boost economic development, at the first-ever
ministerial meeting in Seoul on Friday.
The priority areas ran ge from infrastructure
development to information and communications technology, green development,
water resource management, agri-culture, rural development and human resource
development.
Korea has already pledged to double its
Official Development Assistance to Asean by 2015, most of which will be
channeled into the Mekong region. In addition, annual trade between Korea and
the five Mekong nations jumped from an average of US$1.5 billion in the 1990s
to US$25 billion last year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Dr Thongloun Sisoulith led the Lao delegation attending the event, and
met with his counterparts from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Korean
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-Hwan and Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
The participants endorsed the Han-River
Declaration establishing the Mekong-Republic of Korea Comprehensive Partnership
for Mutual Prosperity, which sets out future cooperation between the countries
concerned.
The meeting comes as Korea, which is Asia's fourth-largest
economy, has been seeking to tap more business opportunities in the Mekong
region, jointly exploring development projects suited to the region.
Kim said at the opening of the meeting that
the Mekong region is blessed with abundant natural resources and a vast labour
force, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
He added that the rapid economic development
the region has achieved in recent years shows how it can turn such growth
potential into reality.
Meeting participants agreed to establish a cooperation
mechanism between the Mekong countries and Korea at the foreign ministry and
senior official level. Laos will co-chair with Korea after this meeting until
the next meeting in 2012.
Thongloun visited Korean President Lee
Myung-Bak and held bilateral talks with his counterpart Kim. The two sides
discussed ways to deepen their cooperation, according to a press release from
the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Thongloun also informed Lee and Kim about
Laos' preparations to host the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in
November next year.
In the wake of the recent devastating floods
in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, Kim extended his sympathies, pledging
his country's support "in every possible way".
Regarding the politics of the region, the six
nations discussed crime fighting cooperation, joint drills for disaster relief,
and the Mekong region's support for Seoul's hosting of the Nuclear Security
Summit next year.
Somsack Pongkhao
Vientiane Times
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