The seminar aimed to discuss the vision and cooperation tasks of Korea's economic cooperation in Asia, amidst the geopolitical significance of the Indo-Pacific region.

Attendees included Heungchong Kim, President of KIEP, Gandi Sulistiyanto, Indonesian Ambassador to Korea, Soo-jin Park, Director of SNUAC, Bum-sik Shin, Vice Director of the SNUAC, Kwon-hyung Lee, Deputy President of the Center for Area Studies at KIEP, and Sung Yong Kang, Director of the Southeast Asia Center at SNUAC, among other Asia regional experts.

During his opening speech, President Heungchong Kim of KIEP emphasized the strategic importance of the Asia region as a cooperation partner for global prosperity, especially in the face of uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. He suggested the need to re-examine existing Korea-Asia cooperation tasks from the perspective of the Indo-Pacific strategy and propose new ones.

The opening session was followed by a keynote speech from Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto on the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic relations, focusing on the special strategic partnership between Korea and Indonesia and future-oriented cooperation.

The first session was on "Mega Asia and the Indo-Pacific region," the second session on "Korea-Southeast Asia economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific era," and the third session on "Korea-South Asia economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific era."

Attendees emphasized that specific cooperation tasks need to be identified and executed for Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy to succeed. The seminar aimed to provide insight into the strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific era in Asia and the direction and tasks for future cooperation.

- Date: April 19th, 2023, 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM

- Venue: SNU Asia Center Samik Hall

- Host: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), SNU Asia Center

- Contact: Doyeon Kim, Senior Researcher of the India and South Asia Team (dykim@kiep.go.kr)