S. Korea-ASEAN Center opens in Seoul

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- An international agency tasked with boosting ties
between South Korea and Southeast Asian countries was inaugurated here Friday as
part of Seoul's initiative to reach out to the region, which has recently grown
in political and economic importance.
"The South Korea-ASEAN Center will play a big role in cementing cooperative
relations between South Korea and the ASEAN countries by promoting trade,
investment, cultural and human exchanges, and tourism," Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo said at the launch ceremony for the organization, attended by more than
200 local and foreign dignitaries including Thailand's Foreign Minister, Kasit
Piromya.
Thailand chairs this year's meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), which also involves Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Han added the organization is expected to play a pivotal role in resolving
various regional and international issues, including the financial crisis and
climate change.
The agency is the second inter-governmental organization to be based in Seoul.
The International Vaccine Institute was established in 1994 under the auspices of
the U.N. Development Program.
South Korea and each of the ASEAN nations will dispatch a director-level
government official to the secretariat of the center's headquarters here.
Cho Young-jai, South Korea's former ambassador to Italy, has been tapped as the
first chief of the organization for a three-year term.
In 2007, then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun announced a plan to set up the
center during the 10th summit between South Korea and ASEAN in Cebu, the
Philippines.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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