1. Eui-hae Cecilia Chung, Special Representative for the Indo-Pacific, attended “the 8th Indian Ocean Conference,” held in Muscat, Oman, from February 16 to 17, as the government representative of the Republic of Korea. During the conference, Special Representative Chung engaged in discussions on ways to  develop the Indian Ocean region and enhance cooperation among regional countries, while expressing Korea’s commitment to expanding maritime cooperation.

※ The Indian Ocean Conference is a track-1.5 conference organized by the India Foundation, one of India’s most influential think tanks. The conference this year was attended by participants from over 40 countries, including ministerial-level officials from 27 nations such as External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Abbas Aragchi, and their counterparts from Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as representatives from several regional organizations, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

2. This year’s conference was held under the theme “Voyage to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership” and featured in-depth discussions on maritime security, regional challenges and opportunities, and ways to strengthen maritime cooperation.

3. On February 17, Special Representative Chung participated as a panelist in the session titled “Promoting Global Maritime Cooperation,” where she shared Korea’s key activities and accomplishments in four priority areas* of maritime cooperation under its Indo-Pacific Strategy and emphasized that Korea would continue to bolster institutional and technical cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners to foster peace, stability and prosperity across the Indian Ocean region.

  * ①enhancing maritime domain awareness, ②combating piracy and ensuring navigational safety, ③strengthening maritime law enforcement, ④addressing climate change in maritime cooperation

4. On the sidelines of the conference, Special Representative Chung also held bilateral meetings with high-level officials from Singapore, India, France, Saudi Arabia and BIMSTEC, during which the two sides extensively exchanged views on ways for cooperation in the areas of maritime security and the Indo-Pacific Strategy.

※ BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a regional organization which comprises Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal and focuses on multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation among South Asian and Southeast Asian countries bordering the Bay of Bengal.