By Park Si-soo
Top diplomats of Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar will meet in Seoul today with the aim of bolstering economic ties between Korea and the countries along the Mekong River.
This is the first minister-level gathering of such kind, officials said Thursday, raising hopes it would “lend further impetus to regional cooperation and integration in wider East Asia.” The meeting will be held once every year.
Thailand’s foreign minister will attend the inaugural gathering despite the worst flooding in decades that is about to engulf its capital Bangkok.
“The Mekong area is an emerging trade partner for Korea,” said a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “The Mekong region countries have shown five to 10 percent annual economic growth. In this context, the meeting will enable Korea to have a bigger presence in this region.”
To mark the occasion, Korea will reaffirm commitment to increase its Official Development Aid (ODA) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to $4 billion by 2015, some of which will be channeled into the Mekong region. In 2009 alone, Korea presented $2 billion to ASEAN in ODA, according to the ministry.
In return, Korea expects the five countries to provide favorable treatment to Korean businesses and citizens there. Also, Seoul will encourage them to join an international campaign to persuade North Korea to forfeit its nuclear ambition.
The official said the increased donation will help develop six key elements for the region’s further growth ㅡ social infrastructure, human resources, information and communication technology, forestry, water resources, and agriculture.
The ministers will jointly issue a “Han-River Declaration” that stipulates terms on comprehensive partnerships between Korea and areas within the Mekong region for mutual prosperity.
The final draft for the declaration cites the need for the multilateral partnership to “promote friendship and cooperation between the Mekong region countries and Korea” in a range of areas including the political, economic, environment and socio-culture realms.