Minister for Trade Cheong Inkyo on May 14 delivers a welcoming speech at the first bilateral Think-tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at Lotte Hotel Jeju in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

Think tanks at home and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have discussed boosting bilateral economic and trade cooperation on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers' Meeting on Jeju Island.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on May 14 announced its hosting of the inaugural Republic of Korea-ASEAN Think-tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy (AKTD) at Lotte Hotel Jeju in Seogwipo.

Organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), the event was attended by over 100 representatives from Korea, ASEAN member countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and figures from the ASEAN Secretariat and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.

The AKTD is the first economic and trade cooperation project launched following the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October last year at the ROK-ASEAN Summit.

The research dialogue is the first economic and trade cooperation project between both sides since their diplomatic relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership at the Korea-ASEAN Summit in October last year.

In the first AKTD session, KIET, the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy gave presentations on ASEAN strategies for economic and trade development, followed by a panel discussion featuring experts in their respective fields.

The following second roundtable covered the basic operational direction of the AKTD and specific implementation plans for each year.

In September, the ministry will present the results of the dialogue's joint research and hold a follow-up conference at the Korea-ASEAN economic ministers' summit in Malaysia.

aisylu@korea.kr