News and Trends

Total 15

Outcome of ROK Foreign Minister’s Bilateral Meetings with Foreign Ministers of Five ASEAN Countries Held on Sidelines of ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings

    Outcome of ROK Foreign Minister’s Bilateral Meetings with Foreign Ministers of Five ASEAN Countries Held on Sidelines of ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings       On the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a series of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of five ASEAN countries -- Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore -- in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on July 26. In each meeting, they exchanged their views on bilateral relations, regional situations including on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-ASEAN cooperation, and cooperation on the international stage.       (Malaysia) Minister Cho and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Mohamad bin Hasan agreed to pursue close cooperation between Korea and Malaysia as next year’s chairs of APEC and ASEAN, respectively. Moreover, both ministers decided to continue strengthening substantive cooperation in various fields, such as defense and the defense industry, education, and vocational training, as well as active high-level exchanges.   (Laos) In the meeting with the Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister Cho congratulated Laos on its ASEAN chairmanship this year and stated that the ROK will actively support Laos in the latter’s efforts to successfully fulfill its chairmanship. Furthermore, both ministers agreed to make the most of the upcoming year (2025), which marks the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, as a great opportunity to further strengthen bilateral relations.     (Indonesia) During the meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, Minister Cho requested Indonesia's active support and cooperation in establishing the "Korea-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" this year.   ㅇ Additionally, both ministers agreed to further strengthen the "Special Strategic Partnership" between the two countries, focusing on the strategic cooperation projects such as the establishment of an “Electric Vehicle Ecosystem” and the joint development program of fighter jets (KF-21/IF-X).     (Brunei Darussalam) In the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam, Erywan Yusof, Minister Cho extended congratulations on the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Brunei's 40th anniversary of independence this year. Both ministers agreed to continue strengthening substantive cooperation in various fields, including ICT and the digital sector, response to climate change, and the defense industry.   (Singapore) In the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ROK-Singapore diplomatic relations in 2025, Minister Cho and Foreign Minister of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan discussed ways to enhance substantive cooperation through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Korea-Singapore FTA as well as active high-level exchanges. They also agreed to work closely on the issues related to the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, in the meetings with the foreign ministers of the five ASEAN countries, Minister Cho expressed his concerns on North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations as well as its illegal military cooperation with Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which threaten regional and global peace and stability. He also emphasized that it is important for ASEAN to send a strong message against North Korea's destabilizing act and requested an active role and support of ASEAN countries in this regard.          

2024.07.26

The 3rd BIMP-EAGA TVET Conference 2023

    The 3rd BIMP-EAGA TVET Conference 2023           The 3rd BIMP-EAGA TVET (Technical Vocational and Education Training) Conference was held in Kuching, Malaysia between March 8 and March 9, 2023. The conference was co-hosted by the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD), the Sarawak Skills Development Center, and the state-funded TVET organization. The plenary meeting was led by Sarawak Prime Minister, Abang Johari Tun Openg.   The BIMP-EAGA aims to accelerate the improvement of culture, education and technology and to develop competent human resources through cooperation in the fields of Society – Culture - Education (SCE). For comprehensive educational cooperation, higher education and technical education are divided based on the needs of the EAGA region, namely higher educational institutions (HEI) and technical and vocational educational institutions (TVETI). The BIMP-EAGA holds TVET forum and HEI summit to share information on employment demands and skill demands, and to expand the network with stakeholders with the main goal to ensure that schools can connect well with the society.   The 3rd BIMP-EAGA TVET Conference was attended by practitioners and experts from academia, industry and government agencies, including Hallman bin Haji Sabri, the director of Sarawak Technology Development Center; Anang Ristanto, the chair of SCE Cluster; and Khoo Nee Teck, the chief technology officer of Huawei Malaysia. The theme of the two-day conference was "TVET leading innovation and talent development", and various perspectives were discussed on four sub-themes such as ‘Innovation and Technology, Human Resource Management and Prospects, as well as Strengthening Partnerships between Green TVET, BIMP-EAGA TVET and HEI’. TVET practitioners shared their best practices and discussed ways to improve the TVET curriculum. They expected that partnerships between institutions can be strengthened to produce competent graduates.    The TVET Sarawak website (tvetsarawak2023.my) provided further details about TVET conference registration and programming.              [References] · TVET SARAWAK, 2023. (https://tvetsarawak2023.my/) · BIMP-EAGA, 2023. 3rd BIMP-EAGA TVET Conference to be Held in Kuching in March. (As of 2023. 02. 23. https://bimp-eaga.asia/article/3rd-bimp-eaga-tvet-conference-be-held-kuching-march)        

2023.03.17

2023 BIMP-EAGA Strategic Planning Meeting

    2023 BIMP-EAGA Strategic Planning Meeting     Source: Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia       The 2023 BIMP-EAGA Strategic Planning Meeting (SPM) was held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei between February 6 and February 8, 2023. Approximately 150 people attended the meeting, including Netty Muharni, the deputy minister of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of Indonesia who also served as the chairman of the meeting; senior managers of the BIMP-EAGA Coordinating Secretariat and the Asian Development Bank; and delegations from the four BIMP countries. The participants discussed the previous year's performance report in the fields of 'connection, environment, trade, tourism, social, cultural, and education', as well as the direction of cooperation in 2023. They also evaluated the ‘Rolling Pipeline (RPoPs) 2020-2022’ project, which is part of Priority Infrastructure Projects (PIPs), with strengthening connectivity as a key theme at the 2023 BIMP-EAGA SPM, and discussed the items to be supplemented in the next stage of the project, known as the ‘Rolling Pipeline (RPoPs) 2023-2025’. BIMP-EAGA planned 104 PIPs in 2017 and completed 45 in 2022, ten projects are in the final stage and 49 are in progress. In 2022, 10 new projects were added to connect farms and markets and to promote trade in border areas.   Chairperson Netti Muharni said that “there is a need to create new strategies so that the programs currently being promoted at BIMP-EAGA can actively respond to global dynamics and megatrends. Connectivity should be expanded by immediately opening sea, land and air routes that were closed due to the pandemic, and through the economic corridor, trade and investment and tourism should be stimulated to promote economic growth”. She further added that active exchanges in the border area should be made by resuming air routes linking Kuching, Malaysia with Pontianak, Indonesia and Davao, the Philippines with Manado, Indonesia, maritime route connecting Bitung Port, Indonesia with General Santos Port, the Philippines, and the operation of the Indonesian public bus (DAMRI) between Indonesia Pontianak and Brunei.   Through this meeting, the participants expected that the shrinking economy of the subregion would be revitalized by increasing production and creating jobs through strengthening the institutional foundation of the BIMP-EAGA and by working closely together with EAGA's local government officials and private actors.              [References] · Brunei News Gazette, 2023. BIMP-EAGA Strategic Planning Meeting. (As of 2023. 02. 06. https://www.bruneinewsgazette.com/bimp-eaga-strategic-planning-meeting/) · Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian Republik Indonesia, 2023. Siapkan Strategi Baru Implementasi Program Kerja Berkelanjutan, Strategic Planning Meeting BIMP-EAGA Kembali Digelar. (As of 2023. 02. 09. https://ekon.go.id/publikasi/detail/4911/siapkan-strategi-baru-implementasi-program-kerja-berkelanjutan-strategic-planning-meeting-bimp-eaga-kembali-digelar)      

2023.03.03

The 2nd BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference

    The 2nd BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference     [Source: Transport Event]     The 2nd BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta from February 21 to 23, 2023. The conference is the BIMP-EAGA's largest international logistics and port-related event, which has been held since 2022 to bolster regional trade routes and promote economic development. The 1st BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2022 Conference was held in Kota Kinabalu and was hosted by Sabah Ports and Sabah Ports Authority, Malaysia.   The 2nd BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference will be hosted by the Indonesian National Port Authority (PT Pelabuhan Indonesia - PELINDO), with support from the BIMP-EAGA Business Council, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Indonesia, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce. During the conference, various exhibitions and international trade conferences related to the logistics industry, such as ports, shipping, and transportation, will be organized. 30 global entrepreneurs and 400 executives specializing in the logistics industry will attend the conference to discuss the latest trends in the international transportation and logistics industry. In addition, 40 domestic and foreign companies are expected to showcase the latest technologies related to port services, shipping and logistics.   The specific program of the conference is as follows. On the 21st, invited participants will visit the Port of Tanjung Priok, the largest port in Indonesia, and the Indonesia Maritime Museum. Meanwhile, on the 22nd and 23rd, at the conference consisting of a total of seven sessions, there will be presentations and discussions on topics such as logistics and port management by BIMP-EAGA countries, BIMP-EAGA economic corridor investment, subregional cooperation, port infrastructure expansion and strategy. The specific conference topics are as follows.       [BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference Program]     BIMP-EAGA expects to assist participants from an international network through this event and to provide an opportunity to expand market participation for the private sectors based on the analysis and advice of experts in each field.                 [References] · BEBC BRUNEI, 2023. BIMP-EAGA Maritime 2023 Conference to be held in February. (As of 2023.01.21. https://bruneibebc.com/bimp-eaga-maritime-2023-conference-to-be-held-in-february/) · TRANSPORT EVENTS, 2023. http://www.transportevents.com/ForthcomingEventsdetails.aspx?EventID=EVE182 · Japan External Trade Organization, 2023. https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/database/j-messe/tradefair/detail/125329      

2023.02.17

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