The Republic of Korea (RoK) Government officially invited leaders of the 10-member ASEAN to attend a summit in Jeju Island, slated for June 1-2, to mark the 20th anniversary of the ASEN - RoK partnership.
The commemorative summit under the theme “Partnership for Real, Friendship for Good” is aimed at turning the ASEAN-RoK ties into a comprehensive partnership and reinforcing their friendship through cultural exchanges.
At the summit, ASEAN and Korean leaders will review results of cooperation between the RoK and ASEAN members, build up a new vision for the relations in the next 20 years, and discuss measures to step up bilateral cooperation as well as deal with global issues such as the financial crisis, energy security and climate change.
On the occasion, the RoK will announce its ODA program for Southeast Asian countries. A large part of the ODA will be offered to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia to help them fight poverty, and raise management capacity, as well as economies’ competitiveness. These four countries have been chosen as the RoK’s medium-term strategic partners.