외교부

Keynote Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 2nd Mekong-ROK Business Forum

H.E. Cho Tae-yong
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea


1. 인사말씀

H.E. 부이 탕 손(Bui Thanh Son), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, distinguished economic leaders from the Mekong countries and Korea, ladies and getlemen,

It is an honour for me to deliver a speech as a representative of the Korean Government at the 2nd Mekong-ROK Business Forum.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam and Korea for all your devoted efforts in working together with the Korean Government to prepare for this forum. And I would like to thank all of you here for making time in your busy schedules to attend this Mekong-ROK Business Forum today.

2. 한-ASEAN 관계의 발전상 언급

Before turning to developments in the ties of cooperation between Korea and the Mekong region, I would like to reflect on some noteworthy developments in the relations between Korea and ASEAN.

With the launch of the Park Geun-hye government last year, the ROK has been pursuing ASEAN-focused diplomacy. During her first year in office, President Park Geun-hye held summit meetings with leaders of eight ASEAN countries and visited three ASEAN countries including Vietnam. This is rather exceptional for a President in their first year in office and it clearly demonstrates the great importance the Korean Government places on ASEAN as a valued partner.

The statistics speak for themselves. ASEAN is Korea's second largest investment and trading partner as well as the second largest market for Korean construction companies. 5 million people engage in mutual visits between the two regions annually. With the Hallyu, or Korean cultural wave, Korean culture is becoming very popular in ASEAN, and more and more people in the ASEAN countries are appreciating Korean culture. Having said that, the appreciation of culture is a two-way affair. More and more Korean people came to appreciate South Asian culture including its attractive cuisine.

To mark the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Partnership, the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit will convene in Korea later this year. Through this event, the Korean Government hopes to map out the next 25 years of ASEAN-ROK cooperation, so that ASEAN and ROK become ‘Partners for Trust and Happiness', a vision presented by President Park Geun-hye at the ASEAN-ROK Summit last October.

3. 메콩 지역의 중요성과 잠재력

Ladies and gentlemen,

Within the context of broader ASEAN-ROK partnership, the ROK increasingly believes that the Mekong region plays a pivotal role within ASEAN.

Mekong's five countries have recorded a gross domestic product of $656 billion USD, achieved an annual economic growth rate of over 5% in recent years, and the IMF has forecast that in 2018, the gross domestic product will reach $892 billion dollars, an increase of 47% within five years.

I am deeply impressed not only by these figures themselves but at the limitless future potential of the Mekong region these figures represent. For instance, Cambodia has an abundant amount of marine produce. And Laos has the potential to become a leading country in hydro power generation. Myanmar has a significant amount of natural gas deposits. Thailand boasts tremendous rubber production, while Vietnam has considerable crude oil deposits. This is not to say that the Mekong region can develop and build upon potential simply because of its natural resources. The infrastructure for the effective utilization of these abundant resources is just as important.

In efforts to establish the ASEAN Community 2015, ASEAN adopted the ‘Leaders Statement on ASEAN Connectivity' and ‘Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity'. ASEAN emphasized the concept of ‘connectivity', building physical and institutional infrastructure, a top priority for economic development and development strategies.

In this context, it is indeed encouraging that remarkable advances are being made in improving roads within the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

The North-South Economic Corridor that links China's Yunnan Province and Bangkok, the East-West Economic Corridor that links Da Nang in Vietnam and Mawlamyine in Myanmar, and the Southern Economic Corridor linking Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh are nearing completion, and other economic corridors are also scheduled to be completed by 2015.

Through these initiatives, the countries of the Mekong region are steadily connecting with each other better to form a seamless region. From a business perspective, this reduces the cost of shipping and transportation, fostering an even more business-friendly environment in the region. The number of foreign enterprises seeking to enter the Mekong region will also increase, and I believe that the interest from the international community will increase as well.

It would be no exaggeration to say that prosperity in the Mekong region is an integral part of prosperity in ASEAN and it is a crucial factor in realizing the 2015 ASEAN Community.

4. 한국이 메콩에 기여하는 실례 소개

Taking this opportunity, I would like to introduce to you some of the specific efforts the ROK has been making both to flesh out our commitment to contributing to the development of the Mekong region and helping to overcome the development gap within ASEAN.

[한-메콩 협력기금]

First of all, since last year Korea has been operating the Mekong-ROK Fund with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two regions since last year. The Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund is a fund designed to help exclusively Mekong region.

Through this fund, we are seeking to establish the Transport Institute. The aim of this institute is to create projects and policies for the building of a sustainable and systematic transport network and strengthening infrastructure and capacity-building. Although the funding may not yet be of a considerable amount we will work to gradually increase it, while exploring ways to ensure the effective and efficient use of the fund.

[한-메콩 외교장관회의]

Secondly, at the ASEAN-ROK Summit in 2010, an agreement was reached on the holding of a Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Since the inaugural meeting, Foreign Ministers from Korea and the Mekong region have continued to engage in valuable discussions on Mekong-Korea cooperation.

At the 1st Meeting, the ‘Han River Declaration' was announced, setting out 6 Priority Areas in Development Cooperation - namely infrastructure, ICT, Green Growth, Water Resource Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Human Resource Development. And at the 4th Meeting, which is due to take place in Seoul this year, the two regions will map out the future direction for the 6 Priority Areas in Development Cooperation for the next three years. A mid- to long-term Action Plan that contains concrete projects will also be announced.

[한-메콩 비즈니스 포럼]

Last but not least, the Foreign Ministers of Korea and the Mekong region met together at the 2nd Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers' Meeting in 2012, and agreed to launch this Mekong-ROK Business Forum. At the 1st Mekong-ROK Business Forum, which was held last year in Bangkok, people from the business field from Korea and Mekong gathered together to network, to share information, and to seek opportunities for business cooperation.

The strength of the Mekong-ROK Business Forum is that through the academic presentations and discussions in the first half of the meeting, we will seek to identify opportunities for cooperation and through the latter half of the forum, business leaders can meet one-on-one to turn potential into reality.

Another key strength of this forum is that businesses seeking to invest in each other's regions can play the role of a private source of finance from a long term perspective in ROK-Mekong cooperation.

In this context, it is encouraging that the key word for the 2nd Mekong-ROK Business Forum is ‘value-supply chains'.

Through this forum, we hope for fruitful discussions on the optimum formula to create the most added value in a whole range of areas spanning from agricultural produce to the service sector. In order to foster the most ideal conditions for the value supply chain, which includes the supply of raw materials, production, distribution, and profit sharing, I hope that we can exchange ideas on how the Mekong countries can strengthen the collaboration between them. With today's discussions, I also hope that each country can come up with concrete measures that will strengthen cooperation.

5. 한-메콩 협력에서 기업인의 중요성 강조

Ladies and gentlemen,

The most important element in bilateral cooperation is the participation and strong commitment of all the business leaders here today.

By making the Mekong-ROK Business Forum a platform for cooperation for the private sector, the Korean Government will spare no efforts to continuously strengthen private-public cooperation. By creating valuable opportunities for business exchanges, we hope that this will be a valuable starting point for the fostering of greater co-development and co-prosperity between the Mekong region and Korea.

6. 마무리 인사

Like the miracle on the Han River, I am confident that a miracle on the Mekong River is clearly on the horizon. Korea stands ready and willing to be a committed partner to the Mekong region. And it is my sincere hope that this forum will indeed represent a collective step forward. In this regard, I look forward to constructive and in-depth discussions and exchanges of views at this forum.

I would like to extend my gratitude once again to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, both the Vietnamese and Korean Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the economic delegates and business leaders who decided to join in the Mekong-Korea Partnership.

Thank you.


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