At the signing ceremony (Source: VNA)Busan (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK) and five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) onNovember 25 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on boosting development cooperation on the sidelines of the ASEAN-RoKCommemorative Summit in Busan, the RoK.
Under the MoU, theRoK and the five ASEAN countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippinesand Vietnam, will bolster exchanges and initiatives in potential fields with practicalsignificance such as tertiary education, smart city and transport.
The signing ofthe document is an important milestone in the RoK-ASEAN partnership.
On the occasion,Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung highlighted the stronggrowth and remarkable achievements in the 30-year partnership between the RoKand ASEAN countries.
He said the RoKhas become a reliable key partner of the ASEAN through diverse and effectiveassistance and support in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
“Developmentcooperation is really a bright spot, contributing to boosting RoK-ASEAN tiesand supporting rapid and sustainable development in ASEAN countries, especiallythe ASEAN-6 group, thus reducing the gap between them and advance countries inthe world,” Dung said.
RoK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Southeast Asia receives 25 percent ofthe RoK’s ODA to capital, and the RoK is striving to realize President MoonJae-in’s pledge to increase ODA to ASEAN by more than two times before 2022under the New Southern Policy./.
VNA
