Gyeonggi Province holds Welcoming Reception for Delegates from the 5 Countries Participating in the 1st NEAR Subcommittee Meeting

Gyeonggi Province offered a welcoming reception at Hotel Castle for about 50 officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology and delegates from 5 countries (China, Japan, Russia, Mongolia, and Korea) participating in the 1st NEAR Science & Technology Subcommittee meeting held by Gyeonggi Province.
The reception was joined by Won Yoo-cheol, Vice Governor for Political Affairs, Jeong Jae-young, Director of Economic Investment, Ko Chul-gi, President of Special Nano Fab Center, and Yoon Dae-sang, Director of the Northeast Asian Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, who welcomed the delegates from each country.

In his welcoming speech, Vice Governor Won Yoo-cheol highlighted the status of Gyeonggi Province as the backbone of Korea’s economic development and its outstanding science and technology infrastructure, and stated that this meeting is particularly meaningful in that it is held at Gwanggyo Techno Valley, an exclusive high-tech city developed by Gyeonggi Province as part of its innovation project.

He went on to express his hopes that the meeting would serve as a starting point to widen the understanding among regional governments with regard to the currently limited cooperation in the areas of science and technology, and show an example how mutual win-win strategies can be achieved through cooperation. He also asked for the regional governments’active cooperation and participation in helping the meeting to develop further as a science and technology network in Northeast Asia.

The Association of North East Asia Regional Government (NEAR) was founded in 1996 with the aim of promoting exchange among regional governments in Northeast Asia, creating networks, and seeking the mutual development of Northeastern Asia as a whole. It is currently the largest consulting association, and is joined by 67 regional governments from 6 countries, including North Korea.

This is the first time the Science and Technology Subcommittee has held a meeting since its establishment, when the Gyeonggi Province delegation (led by Vice Governor Jeong Chang-seop) successfully won the bid to hold its first meeting by dispatching the delegation to NEAR’s general assembly, held in Busan last September.

The meeting will be held from July 24th to 25th at the Special Nano Fab Center, under the agenda of seeking regional cooperation in the fields of science and technology.