○ Gyeonggi Province proposes establishment of ‘Northeast Asia Peace Community’ at 12th Trilateral Friendship Exchange Meeting
– Gyeonggi Province delegation, headed by Innovative Industry Policy Director General Choi Kae-dong, visits Kanagawa, Japan, from May 8 to 10
○ Gyeonggi Province proposes organization of cooperative development council to establish Northeast Asia Peace and Economic Community with Liaoning Province of China and Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, regions which it has maintained sisterhood relations for more than 20 years

Gyeonggi Province proposed a plan to Liaoning Province of China and Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan to create the Northeast Asia Peace Community through exchange and cooperation among local governments.

The Gyeonggi Province delegation, headed by Gyeonggi Province Innovative Industry Policy Director General Choi Kae-dong, attended the 12th Trilateral Friendship Exchange Meeting held in the International Conference Hall of Shonan International Village Center in Kanagawa, Japan, on the afternoon of May 9.

The Trilateral Friendship Exchange Meeting has been held since 1996 to strengthen the cooperative regional network between Gyeonggi Province, Liaoning Province, and Kanagawa Prefecture. It has been held every two years since 1996, with each region hosting the event in turn.

This year, the 12th Friendship Exchange Meeting was attended by expert representatives of three regions including Gyeonggi Province Innovative Industry Policy Officer Director General Choi Kae-dong, Liaoning Province Foreign Affairs Office Director Li Shang-rung, and Kanagawa Prefecture International Culture and Tourism Director General Kawai Koichi. During the meeting, the representatives discussed cooperative measures in relation to challenges the three regions currently face.

In particular, the meeting focused on tri-regional joint measures for promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. As global goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, the SDGs contain details on implementing 17 primary goals and 169 detailed goals by 2030 in an effort to resolve universal problems of humanity as well as environmental, economic, and social issues.

As part of these efforts, Gyeonggi Province has announced its plan for the “Cooperative Development of the Korean Peninsula’s Surrounding Areas through Northeast Asia Peace and Economic Community Establishment” as promoted by Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, and requested the active cooperation and participation of Liaoning Province and Kanagawa Prefecture.

Governor Lee Jae-myung’s plan involves the building of an international partnership of shared economy, security, and peace like that of the European Union, with the major objective being to ultimately build a “Peace and Economic Community” that includes China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, and other nations beyond the Korean Peninsula based on inter-Korean peace and cooperative exchange in the long run.

Gyeonggi Province also proposed the formation of the “East Asia Cooperative Development Council” with the joint participation of Gyeonggi Province, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Liaoning Province in a permanent council and forum for discussion and research on the subject.

The representatives of Kanagawa Prefecture and Liaoning Province responded positively to the proposal by Gyeonggi Province, expressing their anticipation for mutually beneficial development through close economic and peace-related cooperation.

Kanagawa Prefecture International Culture and Tourism Director General Kawai Koichi suggested that the regions ‘act together to promote exchange between the three regions and to resolve their common problems according to the agreement so that this meeting would continue to be held in the future.’

Liaoning Province Foreign Affairs Office Director Li Shang-rung commented: “The goals of sustainable development are an important theme for all three regions.” He urged the others to “continue to strengthen cooperation with local governments in Northeast Asia beyond the three regions in various fields including the economy, environment, and medicine.

Gyeonggi Province Innovative Industry Policy Director General Choi Kae-dong said: “We will provide the foundation for cooperation between Korea, China, and Japan, which are key parties in realizing peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.” He added: “Through productive discussions at this friendship exchange conference, I hope we can arrive at fruitful results that help the lives and welfare of residents in the three regions.”

The representatives of the three regions signed a joint agreement reflecting the discussion results in plans for sustainable development goals, promising to accelerate mutual cooperation and confidence building for future regional cooperative development.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province, Liaoning Province, and Kanagawa Prefecture plan to hold the ‘Three-region Youth Sports Exchange’ event in Kanagawa Prefecture this August.