ID :
209669
Tue, 09/27/2011 - 11:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/209669
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, China, Japan launch new body to promote trilateral cooperation
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, China and Japan launched a cooperation office in Seoul Tuesday in a symbol of their commitment to improve relations and bolster exchanges in a region often unsettled by history and territorial disputes.
The three countries have worked for years to open the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak first proposed the idea when he last held three-way summit talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts in Beijing in 2009.
The sides have since worked out details and signed a final agreement last December.
The three countries are key trade partners for each other, but their political relations have often frayed over their shared history, including Japan's aggression against the other nations in the early 20th century as well as territorial rows.
"With the secretariat in place, trilateral cooperation will no longer be a loose form of intergovernmental cooperation, but a systemized and effective cooperation mechanism for our three governments and peoples to embark upon a new era of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia," South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said during an opening ceremony attended by the Chinese and Japanese ambassadors to Seoul.
"Although our region has made a late start compared to other regions, this does not mean that we must continue to lag behind. Though our beginnings may be humble, I'm confident that our three countries will pave the way for a bright future in Northeast Asia and that this secretariat will play a vital role in this process," the minister said, as he addressed a room packed with government officials and members of the press and diplomatic corps at the office in central Seoul.
He also noted that people-to-people exchanges among the three countries have increased two and a half times over the past 12 years from 6.5 million to 16.5 million, while the volume of trade has grown four and a half times to reach US$588 billion.
Japanese Ambassador Masatoshi Muto concurred with Kim's remarks, stressing the shared responsibilities of the three neighbors.
"The idea of trilateral cooperation comes from the fact that we three countries share common responsibilities and future visions to create regional and international peace, prosperity and a sustainable future," Muto said. "We must strengthen future-oriented cooperation under the principle of openness, transparency, mutual trust, common benefit and respect of various cultures, as our leaders have agreed."
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen added that the three countries jointly account for 22 percent of the global population and nearly 20 percent of the world's economy.
"China, the ROK (Republic of Korea) and Japan are countries with great influence both in Asia and in the world," Zhang said. "To strengthen trilateral cooperation will not only benefit the peoples of the three countries, but also contribute to peace and development in Northeast Asia as well as in the whole world."
The secretariat is charged with promoting deeper trilateral ties through joint cooperation projects, research on issues of mutual interest and communication with other international organizations. It is also expected to help organize trilateral summits, meetings among the three nations' foreign ministers and other intergovernmental cooperation efforts.
South Korea's Shin Bong-kil, a former ambassador for international economic cooperation, will first take the rotating headship as secretary-general, with Mao Ning from China and Rui Matsukawa from Japan as his deputies. They will each serve a two-year term.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
The three countries have worked for years to open the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak first proposed the idea when he last held three-way summit talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts in Beijing in 2009.
The sides have since worked out details and signed a final agreement last December.
The three countries are key trade partners for each other, but their political relations have often frayed over their shared history, including Japan's aggression against the other nations in the early 20th century as well as territorial rows.
"With the secretariat in place, trilateral cooperation will no longer be a loose form of intergovernmental cooperation, but a systemized and effective cooperation mechanism for our three governments and peoples to embark upon a new era of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia," South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said during an opening ceremony attended by the Chinese and Japanese ambassadors to Seoul.
"Although our region has made a late start compared to other regions, this does not mean that we must continue to lag behind. Though our beginnings may be humble, I'm confident that our three countries will pave the way for a bright future in Northeast Asia and that this secretariat will play a vital role in this process," the minister said, as he addressed a room packed with government officials and members of the press and diplomatic corps at the office in central Seoul.
He also noted that people-to-people exchanges among the three countries have increased two and a half times over the past 12 years from 6.5 million to 16.5 million, while the volume of trade has grown four and a half times to reach US$588 billion.
Japanese Ambassador Masatoshi Muto concurred with Kim's remarks, stressing the shared responsibilities of the three neighbors.
"The idea of trilateral cooperation comes from the fact that we three countries share common responsibilities and future visions to create regional and international peace, prosperity and a sustainable future," Muto said. "We must strengthen future-oriented cooperation under the principle of openness, transparency, mutual trust, common benefit and respect of various cultures, as our leaders have agreed."
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen added that the three countries jointly account for 22 percent of the global population and nearly 20 percent of the world's economy.
"China, the ROK (Republic of Korea) and Japan are countries with great influence both in Asia and in the world," Zhang said. "To strengthen trilateral cooperation will not only benefit the peoples of the three countries, but also contribute to peace and development in Northeast Asia as well as in the whole world."
The secretariat is charged with promoting deeper trilateral ties through joint cooperation projects, research on issues of mutual interest and communication with other international organizations. It is also expected to help organize trilateral summits, meetings among the three nations' foreign ministers and other intergovernmental cooperation efforts.
South Korea's Shin Bong-kil, a former ambassador for international economic cooperation, will first take the rotating headship as secretary-general, with Mao Ning from China and Rui Matsukawa from Japan as his deputies. They will each serve a two-year term.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
