1. A meeting of international relations officers of provincial government agencies took place at the Foreign Ministry on August 9 to seek ways that the Foreign Ministry and those agencies can work together. Deputy Director-General for Cultural Affairs Bae Byeong-soo presided over the meeting that brought together 21 international relations officers from provincial government agencies as well as relevant officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Governors Association of Korea, 32 in total.

2. Amid provincial government agencies increasingly engaging in international exchanges, the Foreign Ministry hosts the meeting on an annual basis with the aim to help those agencies strengthen their internationalization capability and with their public diplomacy activities. At the 2017 meeting, the participants extensively discussed ways to render support to the agencies with their public diplomacy activities pursuant to the “public diplomacy act” in effect since August 2016 as well as possible cooperation projects between the Foreign Ministry and the agencies in the field of public diplomacy.

° Ahead of the discussion, the Foreign Ministry briefed the participants on the new government’s foreign policy direction for the year 2017; work to boost trade and investment; major public diplomacy projects; and the progress in cooperation between the Foreign Ministry and provincial government agencies.

3. The provincial government officials shared with the other participants the major international exchanges held by their agencies and their work to become hosts of international events, asking for cooperation of the Foreign Ministry and other central government agencies on their efforts to conduct international affairs in an efficient and successful manner.

4. After the meeting, the international relations officers of provincial government agencies and the Foreign Ministry’s first-time assignees to overseas missions had luncheon together, during which they learned about each others’ work and built cooperative ties.

5. Going forward, the Foreign Ministry will increase efforts to help provincial government agencies build their internationalization capability; to boost economies of provincial areas; and to step up cooperation with those agencies on public diplomacy.


* unofficial translation