Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, has co-chaired the 9th meeting of ASEAN-Korea Joint Cooperation Committee (AKJCC) with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ambassador to ASEAN Kwon Hee-seog.
Participants at the event
During the meeting on May 24, the two sides noted the progress made in the ASEAN-RoK cooperation over the past year, including following up on the outcomes of the 22nd ASEAN-RoK Summit in October 2021 and activities to implement various areas of cooperation under the ASEAN-RoK Plan of Action (2021-2025).
Within the framework of the key cooperation mechanism - the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF), 20 projects are being implemented with a total investment of 56 million USD, focusing on five priority areas of education and training, the environment, economic recovery, culture and tourism, and health.
In addition, there are nine projects waiting for approval, including large-scale ones such as “Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN ”(CASA) worth 11 million USD.
On this occasion, the RoK side announced to increase its annual contribution to the fund from 14 million USD to 16 million USD.
The RoK ambassador reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting the central role of ASEAN, the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), and promote cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo- Pacific (AOIP).
Ambassador Bang and others ASEAN officials appreciated the close and long-term cooperation commitment of the RoK, while proposing strengthening cooperation in many fields such as education-training, infrastructure cooperation. and connectivity, narrowing the development gap, smart city and sustainable development, climate change and environmental protection.
The two sides also expressed their delight at the upcoming establishment of a series of cooperation mechanisms, including ministerial-level meetings on disaster handling, and infrastructure and smart city.
In March 2022, the two sides inaugurated the ASEAN-RoK financial cooperation centre in Jakarta. They are working together to promote the establishment of two other centres for cooperation in science, technology and innovation.
The Mission of the RoK to ASEAN organised the ASEAN-Korea Business Forum on May 19. It will host forums and seminars on transport, digital transformation, maritime connectivity, labour, and marine waste treatment in 2022./.
VNA
