The Launching of the Korea-ASEAN Forum

Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Ramlan bin Ibrahim who is also the current Chairman of the ASEAN

Committee in Seoul (2^nd from left) discussing with RoK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan during the

Dinner Meeting hosted by the Korea-ASEAN Forum.

The Korea-ASEAN Forum was launched on 29 July 2009 at the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly building. The dinner meeting hosted by the Chairman of the Korea-ASEAN Forum Mr. Hwang Woo-Yea in honour of the ASEAN Ambassadors was also attended by Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan.

FM Yu Myung-Hwan took time off his busy schedule to attend the dinner. In congratulating the establishment of the K-A Forum, he emphasized the importance and support of the RoK National Assembly towards the furtherance of ASEAN-RoK cooperation. He added that the K-A Forum comprising of former Presidential Special Envoys who were sent to ASEAN member countries to extend the invitation of President Lee to ASEAN HOS/HOG for the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit signified RoK’s interest for sustaining the forward momentum for closer collaboration with ASEAN. FM Yu recalled that during the visit of President Lee Myung-bak to Indonesia, the latter had announced RoK’s New Asia Initiative – intended to strengthen substantive ties with Asia. ASEAN remained central to the New Asia Initiative. The New Asia Initiative would promote and hasten Asia’s development through the sharing of developmental experience and programme with particular emphasis given to capacity development, green growth, people-to people relations and it would not be confined to economic cooperation per se but also include socio-cultural fields as well. The New Asia Initiative would foster a collective spirit of togetherness of an Asian space to nurture a common Asian future.

FM Yu stressed that by launching the K-A Forum, RoK has elevated the status of ASEAN in Korea. This initiative had been endorsed by the President. In fact, the Presidential Advisor too had been invited to attend the inaugural dinner meeting but apologized for his absence due to other pressing engagement. Later, responding to Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Ramlan bin Ibrahim’s question, FM Yu confirmed that the establishment of the Korea-ASEAN Forum was the first and only arrangement that the National Assembly was having with a group of ASEAN Ambassadors.

K-A Forum Chairman Hwang Woo-Yea in his welcoming remarks acknowledged the importance of ASEAN as RoK’s third largest trading partner. Trade relations had doubled in the last five years from USD46.4 billion to USD 90.2 billion in 2008 and investment increasing five times from USD1.3 billion to USD6.8 billion last year. With the inking of the ASEAN-RoK FTA, trade volume could be expected to increase to USD150 billion. Given the promising trend of the economic relations, the increasing importance of ASEAN to Korea needed no further emphasis. Korea would be focusing to invest more efforts towards promoting closer collaboration in multi-sectoral areas with ASEAN.

In this respect, the National Assembly through the K-A Forum would also wish to play a role and contribute to the effort of RoK’s governmental actors in acknowledging ASEAN importance. The K-A Forum would help governmental actors or institutions in their current and future activities where resources from the national budget would have to be allocated.

On behalf of the ASEAN Ambassadors and in his capacity as the Chairman of ASEAN Committee in Seoul (ACS), Dato’ Ramlan congratulated the Forum members on the establishment of the K-A Forum and expressed ASEAN’s readiness to work closely with the Members of the National Assembly to further advance ASEAN-RoK shared interests. He also acknowledged the presence of FM Yu that signified Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the RoK’s support towards the K-A Forum. The other ASEAN Ambassadors too echoed similar sentiments.

He also expressed ASEAN’s appreciation for RoK’s New Asia Initiative that would bring development, progress and uplift the well-being of the people of Asia and ASEAN. It would spur development in Asia through Korea’s active participation as ASEAN’s development partner and unleash the potentials for common prosperity.

At the end of the dinner meeting, the K-A Forum Chairman said to the ACS Chairman that the Forum would have its regular meetings and in order to enrich discourse with ASEAN Ambassadors, Cabinet Ministers would be invited to share their views and perspectives on areas that would further help to advance ASEAN-ROK relations. The ACS Chairman have indicated the ASEAN Committee in Seoul’s interest to have a session with the Minister of Knowledge Economy and particularly to learn more about RoK’s green growth agenda and policy and where ASEAN could benefit from the green growth collaboration.