1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon attended, as head of the delegation of the Republic of Korea, the 2019 Forum of the South East Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which took place in Paris on March 11 and 12, 2019, under the theme of “Connecting Southeast Asia.” The ROK and the Kingdom of Thailand are serving as co-chairs of SEARP during its second term from March 2018 until March 2021.

2. In his keynote speech at the high-level forum on March 11, Deputy Minister Yun spoke about the importance of connectivity for the development of ASEAN as well as opportunities and challenges posed by digital innovation; and expressed the willingness of the Republic of Korea to contribute to the ASEAN connectivity through its New Southern Policy.

3. On the occasion of the SEARP Forum, Deputy Minister Yun met bilaterally with delegates from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for discussions on ways to work more closely together at the OECD and with each other.

°  In particular, with a delegate from Thailand, the other co-chair of SEARP, the Deputy Minister exchanged views on ways that SEARP could successfully be run during its second term.

4. By serving as a co-chair of SEARP at the Forum, the ROK government is seen to have enhanced its diplomatic standing on the multilateral stage and strengthened the driving force of its New Southern Policy.

* unofficial translation