1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host a “Korea-Asia Energy Cooperation Seminar” at Plaza Hotel, Seoul, on March 19.

° The forthcoming event will bring together some 200 people, including officials of the governments and other public organizations of the Republic of Fiji, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Brunei Darussalam, Turkmenistan, and the Commonwealth of Australia; and experts at energy-related agencies, enterprises, and academic circles at home and abroad.

2. The seminar will start with opening remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon and congratulatory remarks by Secretary-General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Lee Hyuk. It will consist of three sessions, during which the participants will cover the status of power industry, energy plants, renewable energy industry, and energy infrastructure in Asia and relevant projects; and seek ways to work with the Republic of Korea in the field.

° In session I, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fiji Limited Hasmukh Patel; Partnership & Sector Risk Director of the UAE Department of Energy Sayed Fawad Ali; and Director of Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise U Htet Shan Phyo will share with the other participants the current status of power industry as well as energy infrastructure construction projects in their home countries.

° In session II, Deputy Head of Renewable Energy Division of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade Pham Huong Giang; and Team Leader for Renewable Energy and Climate Change of the Brunei National Energy Research Institute Nabih Fakri Matussin will deliver presentations on the current status of solar energy industry and waste energy, as well as relevant projects in their home countries.

° In session III, Energy & Infrastructure Adviser at the ROK Embassy in Turkmenistan Gulnara Mergenova; Energy & Infrastructure Adviser at the ROK Embassy in Australia Heo Joon; and Energy & Infrastructure Adviser at the ROK Embassy in Vietnam Nguyen Thanh Ha will speak about the trends in energy markets in the three countries and offer information on their bidding processes.

3. The ROK Foreign Ministry has arranged business meetings between Korean companies and foreign guest speakers for March 20, the day after the Seminar, as opportunities for Korean enterprises to give information about themselves to guest speakers and to discuss ways to take part in projects in those countries (Some 20 Korean companies are scheduled to attend those meetings.).

4. The upcoming event has been organized for the ROK to step up cooperation with other Asian countries in such areas as energy infrastructure, information and communications technology (ICT), and smart cities. Going forward, the Foreign Ministry will continue various efforts to bolster energy cooperation with foreign countries.

* unofficial translation