The 16 th ASEAN-Republic of Korea (RoK) Dialogue, a senior officials’ meeting, was convened in Seoul on June 15 to discuss ways and means to further strengthen strategic partnership between the two sides.

A press release of the ASEAN Secretariat said the two sides reviewed progress made in the implementation of the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-RoK Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity and the Plan of Action to implement the joint declaration.

Both expressed their satisfaction with the significant progress that has been achieved in ASEAN-RoK multi-faceted cooperation, an example of which was the signing of the Agreement on Forest Cooperation between ASEAN and the RoK in Bali , Indonesia , on November 2011.

In addition, the two sides exchanged views on the future direction of ASEAN-RoK relations and underscored the need to continue to tap the vast potential and opportunity that exist in the relations to build a strong partnership that could contribute to the peace and prosperity in the region.

The RoK reiterated its strong commitments to supporting ASEAN’s efforts to narrow the development gap in the region, particularly in the Mekong region under the Mekong-RoK framework.-VNA