Next step is ASEAN chamber of commerce

By Kim Se-jeong

Chairman of ASEAN’s Seoul chapter Myo Lwin, who is also the Myanmar ambassador to Korea, said the next step for the mature Korea-ASEAN relations is opening an ASEAN chamber of commerce in Korea.

The issue, brainstormed by the Singaporean Ambassador to Korea Chua Thai Keong a few months ago, has been discussed among the members of the Seoul chapter.

“We are discussing it,” Amb. Lwin said in response to how far the talks have come, but he did not expand further.

If the chamber opens, it will be the second official entity that will facilitate cooperation between Korea and the ASEAN states. The first is the Korea-ASEAN Center, an international organization.

Having opened last year, the center has held animated exchanges especially in areas of business and culture. Investment tours are organized periodically, through which prospective Korean investors with the assistance of the center travel to each of the 10 member states.

The center has created venues where commodities from the ASEAN states could be displayed and could find Korean importers.

A free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and ASEAN is in place, but it hasn’t successfully galvanized economic activities. During the seventh consultations between the ASEAN economic ministers and Kim Jong-hoon, Korea’s trade minister, the ministers raised concerns on the under-utilized FTA.

They said that it attributed to low awareness by businesses, shortage of information, and administrative difficulties in claiming tariff concessions, and agreed to find solutions to the problem in an effort to spur economic exchange.

Korea and ASEAN began its relations in 1989 as dialogue partners.

In 1997, the first ASEAN Plus Three Summit — including Korea, China And Japan — was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and, so was first ASEAN-Korea summit.

Last June, the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit took place on Jeju Island.

On the economic front, bilateral trade reached $ 74.7 billion last year, a slight decline from the previous year’s $ 78.3 billion.

But ASEAN is Korea’s third largest trade partner, third largest investment destination and second largest construction market.

It is currently reassessing its relations with the United States and Russia as well.

“The decision to engage the U.S. and Russia into an expanded summit is a right decision, and I hope that the inclusion of the U.S. and Russia will deepen the cooperation in regional peace, security and prosperity,” the Myamarese ambassador said, referring to the East Asia Summit that will take place in Hanoi next month.

Together with Russia, the U.S. will be new participants in the summit of 16 nations: the 10 ASEAN member states, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Korea.

It was a decision by ASEAN leaders in July this year to invite the two countries to the meeting, and Hillary Clinton, Obama administration’s top diplomat, will attend the Hanoi meeting.