S. Korea, ASEAN to hold economic forum next week

By Koh Byung-joon
SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government said Thursday that it will
hold an international economic forum next week to discuss ways to intensify
economic and other forms of cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.

The forum will be held Monday in the southern resort island of Jeju on the
sidelines of summit talks between South Korea and member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to the Ministry of Strategy and
Finance. The summit will also kick off on Monday for a two-day run.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun will attend the forum and have talks with his
counterparts from ASEAN countries, the ministry said. Officials from such
regional banks as the Asian Development Bank will join the gathering.
Participants will exchange opinions on cooperation among Asian countries to
achieve sustainable growth, help underprivileged people in the region, boost ties
in tourism and other joint efforts to tackle the global economic crisis, the
ministry said.
The ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
South Korea's relations with the 10-member ASEAN significantly improved after it
established a "dialogue partnership" with the regional body in 1989.
Korean trade with the association nearly tripled to around US$90 billion last
year from 2001, according to the ministry. The expanded exchanges made South
Korea ASEAN's third-largest trading partner. ASEAN is the fifth-largest for South
Korea.
South Korea has been stepping up efforts to increase cooperation with ASEAN
countries in financial markets, economic ties, green energy and other natural
resource development projects amid rising calls for concerted efforts in the
region to brace for global problems.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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