Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu (Source: Yonhap News Agency)Hanoi (VNA) – The Republic of Korea(RoK) pledges to cement ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) with a clear vision, resources and concrete action plans, DeputyForeign Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu told Yonhap News Agency ina recent interview.
He said central to that commitment is Seoul'sNew Southern Policy that it has forged ahead with the installation of a specialpresidential panel and a foreign ministry bureau solely for ASEAN affairs, andsharp increases in related projects, staff and funding.
The initiative is set to gain greater tractionin November when the RoK hosts a commemorative summit with ASEAN in thesoutheastern port city of Busan to mark 30 years since the two sidesestablished bilateral dialogue relations.
"Partnering with ASEAN is not just a matterof choice but a path now clearly presented to us,” Yoon said.
"We are pursuing a mutually beneficialpartnership and co-prosperity, not a one-way street. We have a clear policygoal that seeks a kind of cooperation to contribute to the development ofASEAN," he added.
Over the past two years, the initiative has beenmaking steady progress as evidenced by numerical data.
The number of visitors traveling between the RoKand the ASEAN region surpassed the 10 million mark in 2018. The number of ASEANstudents studying in the RoK amounted to 32,574 last year compared with 19,000recorded in 2017.
Two-way trade reached a record high of 160billion USD in 2018. The two sides have set a goal of increasing the volume to200 billion USD by next year.
The RoK has also doubled a government funddedicated to bolstering cooperation with ASEAN to 14 million USD.-VNA
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