Delegates pose for a photo at the launch of the ASEAN-Korea Train at Seoul Station on October 16, 2019. (Photo: Yonhap) Seoul (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK) and 10 Southeast Asian nations on October 23 began a two-day meeting in Gwangju city of the RoK to promote exchanges in culture, arts and tourism.
The meeting is attended by culture ministers and senior officials from the RoK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.
It began with a forum on tourism on October 23 afternoon during which officials and experts discussed ways to increase cooperation between the two sides and utilise cultural assets to develop tourism.
A ministers' conference set for October 24 will discuss ways to promote exchanges of cultural institutions, industries and artists between the two sides. Also on the agenda is cooperation for better preservation and utilization of cultural heritage. The ministers plan to issue a joint statement after the event.
The RoK’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in its press release that “through this ministerial meeting, we expect to create a momentum for a substantial development in Korea-ASEAN cultural exchanges and cooperation.”
The ministry will propose diverse and concrete cooperative projects to expand RoK-ASEAN cultural exchanges as part of the tasks of the New Southern Policy initiated by President Moon Jae-in in 2017 to enhance relations with the Southeast Asian region, it said.
The meeting comes one month before a RoK-ASEAN leaders' summit slated for November 25-26 in the southeastern port city of Busan to mark the 30th anniversary of establishing a dialogue partnership between the two sides.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
VNA
