1. The 12th meeting of the ROK-Russia joint committee on environmental cooperation will take place in Seoul on October 26 to discuss ways to strengthen environmental cooperation between the two countries. The 4th meeting of the joint committee’s subcommittee on the conservation of endangered wildlife species will be held on October 25 in conjunction with the joint committee meeting.

o The ROK and Russian head delegates to the joint committee meeting are Director-General for Climate Change and Environmental Affairs Lee Hyung-jong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Director for International Cooperation Fominykh Irina of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, respectively.

2. In the meeting, the two countries will inform each other of their respective environmental policies, discuss ways to step up bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including ecosystem, environmental industry, air pollution, and marine environment, and exchange views on ways to increase regional and global environmental cooperation.

o The two sides will especially review the progress in implementing fifteen cooperation projects currently underway and future plans for the projects, and discuss new cooperation projects, including joint research on radioactive substances in the ocean and AI in wild birds.

o They will also exchange views on ways to strengthen environmental cooperation in Northeast Asia, including in accordance with the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) and the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), as well as global environmental cooperation on such issues as climate change.

3. The meeting of the ROK-Russia joint committee on environmental cooperation has been held alternately in the two countries pursuant to the ROK-Russia agreement on environmental cooperation, concluded in 1994. The meeting has been serving as a forum to pursue substantive environmental cooperation between the two countries.


* unofficial translation