[1st] January 25, 2008 Home | Full Contents | MOFAT Homepage   Minister＇s Letter to Readers Minister Song Min-soon invites you as our valued policy customer. Minister in the AoC Forum Foreign Minister Song Min-soon attended the first High-level Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) Annual Forum held in Madrid, Spain, on January 15 and 16. Korea is a member of the 'Group of Friends' which consists of governments and multilateral organizations that support the efforts of the Alliance of Civilizations.  In the statement he delivered on January 15, Minister Song stressed the need to solidify a partnership among the participating countries of the AoC to cope with conflicts among civilizations that occur with the progress of globalization. He also expressed Korea’s willingness to contribute to the AoC based on its experience of participating in the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and on its efforts to become a mature democracy. He stressed that Korea will contribute to narrowing digital divide by expanding assistance to developing countries in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) and to bridging cross-cultural gap of misunderstanding. The 1st AoC Annual Forum was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for the AoC Jorge Sampaio and high-level officials from 67 countries including heads of governments and foreign ministers of about 30 countries, along with representatives from 13 international organizations. The participants confirmed their political will and commitments to the AoC and agreed to launch this year’s major projects, including revitalizations of the Global Youth Employment Center and the Media Fund. The Alliance of Civilizations(AoC)aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process of, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.It was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations. In April 2007, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the Alliance. The AoC is supported by a Group of Friends- a community of over 75 countries and international organizations and bodies. On the sidelines of the Forum, Minister Song Min-soon met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on January 16. In his meeting with the Secretary-General over breakfast, Minister Song recognized success and progress in the issues Secretary-General Ban has been focusing on since his inauguration, including the issue of Darfur in Sudan, climate change, Middle East peace talks, and the reform of the UN Secretariat. Expressing high hopes for Secretary-General Ban to achieve greater success this year, Minister Song pledged full cooperation of the Korean government. He explained the efforts of the Korean government to make contributions to the international community that correspond with Korea’s status on the global stage. To this end, Minister Song stressed that the Korean government is putting greater emphasis than ever on Korea’s active participation in the UN peacekeeping operations (PKO) and on the increase of official development assistance (ODA). He further elaborated that the Korean government was making efforts to pass a bill on UN PKO in the National Assembly which will enable rapid deployment of Korean troops for UN PKOs.   Secretary-General Ban welcomed the efforts of the Korean government to increase its contributions to the international community, and hoped that a legal basis would be laid to promote Korea's participation in the UN PKO by passing the PKO bill in the National Assembly. He also expressed hopes that the Korean government would continue to render its contributions and assistance to the UN in terms of national policies. FTA negotiations in 2008 In 2008, Korean government will focus on concluding the free trade agreement negotiations that have already been started. Meanwhile, Korea will continue to seek free trade agreements with emerging markets that possess high growth potential. The ratification of the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA is considered to be the most important task for the year. According to a report published by the Korea Chamber of Commerce in 2007, the opportunity cost for one-year delay in the ratification of the KORUS FTA amounts to 15.2 trillion Korean won, which is equivalent to $16,050 million. In addition, Korea plans to do its utmost for an early conclusion of the FTAs currently under negotiation with the EU, Canada, India, Mexico, and ASEAN. After completing the necessary domestic procedure, Korea will also begin FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a six-nation economic bloc with high potential for growth which consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. When the president-elect Lee Myung-bak takes office, the new administration will also explore the possibility of launching FTA negotiations with China as well as resuming FTA talks with Japan in the context of reviewing a broader FTA policy. The 21st Korea-ASEAN FTA Trade Negotiating Committee     The 21st Korea-ASEAN FTA Trade Negotiating Committee was held from January 14 to January 18 in Baguio  City, Philippines.The Korean delegation was led by Choi Kyung-lim, the Deputy General for FTA Policy, and consisted of 24 representatives from other ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, while the ASEAN delegation was led by David Chin, the Co-Chair for ASEAN, and consisted of 50 delegates.  At this meeting, and ASEAN agreed to conclude the Agreement on Investment within this year, which has been delayed until now. Also, both sides agreed to apply the principle of sub-national treatment to regional governments, which will contribute to the acceleration of the negotiations.    Both sides also temporarily agreed upon the drafts of protocols legally enabling to join the Korea-ASEAN Agreements on Goods and Services. The protocols will be signed in May 2008 at the Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting after confirmation from Korea and ASEAN member states. The 22nd round of negotiations will be held on April 8~11, 2008 in Korea.  Vice Minister＇s Visit to Turkmenistan Climate Change Trade Minister in the World Economic Forum in Davos Public Hearing on the possible Korea-GCC FTA Minister＇s Speech at the Alliance of Civilizations Forum Beauty of the Goryeo Celadon   The Ministry`s policy customers service conforms to the privacy guidelines. 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