외교부

1. The Ninth ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit was held successfully on 13 December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Meeting was chaired by the Honourable Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia and was attended by Heads of State/Government of ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.

2. The ASEAN Leaders held a productive exchange of views with His Excellency Roh Moo-hyun, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), on wide-ranging regional and international political and security, economic and other issues of common interest and concern.

3. We reaffirmed our commitment to the peaceful and comprehensive solution to the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula. In this connection, we welcomed the Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks adopted on 19 September 2005. 

4. We reviewed ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations since we met in November last year in Vientiane, Lao PDR. We noted with satisfaction that significant progress had been made in our relations during the past year, which had contributed to the strengthening of our comprehensive cooperation partnership as well as peace, stability and development of the region and the world.

5. We reaffirmed the importance of the ASEAN-ROK Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership signed in November 2004 in Vientiane, which had helped to consolidate our partnership and chart the future direction of the ASEAN-ROK relations. In this regard, we adopted the Plan of Action to implement the Joint Declaration and tasked our Ministers and Senior Officials to oversee and coordinate the speedy implementation of the Plan of Action.

6. We signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea. We also welcomed the signing of the Agreement on Trade in Goods and the Agreement on Dispute Settlement Mechanism under the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership by our Economic Ministers. We further look forward to the early conclusion of the negotiations of the AKFTA. The Leader of the ROK welcomed ASEAN’s agreement in principle to the inclusion of products from the Kaesong Industrial Complex of the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the AKFTA. The ASEAN Leaders were of the view that this effort would complement and support the efforts of the ROK to bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula. We agreed to look into other forms of joint collaboration to support these efforts.

7. We acknowledged the current challenges facing our region such as the threat of terrorism and other transnational crimes, the outbreak of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza; the rise in oil price; and natural disasters. We agreed to work together closely in addressing these challenges through bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts. 

8. We welcomed the signing of the Joint Declaration on Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism by our Foreign Ministers in July 2005. In this regard, the Leader of the ROK proposed the establishment of an ASEAN-ROK Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime to implement the Joint Declaration.  

9. We agreed to work together to ensure energy security in the region through, inter alia, energy efficiency and conservation, alternative sources of energy such as bio-fuels and hydroelectric, and oil stockpiling. In this regard, we discussed possible cooperation projects which could be implemented within the ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations and ASEAN Plus Three cooperation frameworks.  

10. We recognised the need to utilise information and communication technologies (ICT) to bridge the digital divide, including producing low cost computers and making use of used computers to students, especially in the rural areas of ASEAN. In this regard, the ASEAN Leaders encouraged the ROK to look into the proposal as well as strengthening cooperation in e-Government.

11. We acknowledged the role played by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to spur economic growth and creation of employment. In this regard, the ROK expressed interest to share best practices and know-how in developing SMEs, and providing capacity building, including entrepreneurial skills for ASEAN SMEs. The ASEAN Leaders also encouraged joint collaboration between the SMES of ASEAN and the ROK in, inter alia, biotechnology and genetic engineering.   

12. We welcomed the successful implementation of projects by ASEAN and the ROK to commemorate the 15th anniversary of our relations, which have helped to promote people-to-people exchange and mutual understanding between our peoples.

13. The ASEAN Leaders expressed their appreciation to the ROK for its support for ASEAN’s efforts in narrowing the development gap and accelerating ASEAN integration through support for the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP) and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). In this regard, the ASEAN Leaders encouraged the ROK to consider contributing to the ASEAN Development Fund (ADF).

14. The ASEAN Leaders expressed their appreciation to the ROK for increasing its contribution to the ASEAN-ROK Special Cooperation Fund (SCF) and ASEAN-ROK Future Oriented Cooperation Projects Fund (FOCP), which demonstrated ROK’s strong commitment towards ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations.

15. The ASEAN Leaders encouraged the ROK to consider supporting other sub-regional cooperation frameworks, such as Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) programme, Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIPM-EAGA), Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), and the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC) to promote socio-economic development and improve the standards of living of the peoples in these regions.

16. We welcomed the convening of the First East Asia Summit (EAS) on             14 December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We shared the view that the EAS should be convened annually and that ASEAN and the ROK would play a significant role in this region to promote strategic dialogue and cooperation among the participating countries.