1. The Foreign Ministry and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy will co-host the 2nd ROK-SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Partnership Seminar at Lotte Hotel, Seoul, on December 14.

2. A total of eight high-ranking officials of the Secretariat and member countries of SAARC have been invited to the Seminar, which will deal with the progress in and future of the development of the organization; and specific ways for the ROK and SAARC to work more closely together in the fields of socio-economic development, development, environment and human security.

* The eight member states of SAARC are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

3. The Foreign Ministry organized and held the inaugural Seminar in Nepal in November 2011 in a bid to increase exchange of information and seek out areas of substantive cooperation with India and other South Asian countries, which are expanding their presence in the global community. At the inaugural gathering, some 150 people, including relevant officials and experts of the Secretariat and member countries of SAARC, exchanged ideas on ways for the ROK and SAARC to promote exchanges and economic cooperation, and for the SAARC members to work more closely.

4. The Seminar is expected to serve as an opportunity for the ROK and South Asian countries to brainstorm ways to step up bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

                             Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation