Seminar on 'New Northern Policy' takes place in Seoul
  • 6 years ago
The New Northern Policy centers around creating a huge economic area that would expand from the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East to Eurasia.
Public and private sector experts gathered in Seoul on Monday to talk about the details of that government plan to help find a new growth engine.
Kim Hyesung reports.
Forming a Peaceful and Prosperous Northern Economic Community.
Around 200 participants, including academics, foreign diplomats and Korean government officials gathered in Seoul on Monday to share their insight on the 'New Northern Policy,'... which aims to connect Korea with Russia, Mongolia and other Eurasian countries.

"We are witnessing improving inter-Korean ties and a rare opportunity for denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula. Northern economic cooperation has been a dream for Korea and Eurasia since the post cold-war period. There is more room for development and we hope to bring about even greater shared prosperity."

The Eurasian region that connects Europe and Asia, is emerging as a strategic hub in the 21st century.
China, India, and Russia are all pushing for initiatives to integrate the region economically.
President Moon Jae-in also unveiled Korea's plan to connect the region at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last September.
Since then, projects involving the natural gas, agriculture and fisheries sectors have been gaining traction, with Korean and Russian representatives establishing a consultative body to iron out the details early this month.

"We should think about the future. I suppose the main promise, is made on science and technology cooperation. We have to cooperate to produce new knowledge, new technologies, new materials, it's much better to use Korean technology to develop Russian resources."

Representatives and diplomats from Eurasia said it's not the first time Korea has proposed a plan to integrate the region, and said there should be more experts on Eurasia, people-to-people exchanges, and science and technology cooperation on top of resource and logistics development.
To do that, Korean representatives said financing is a key challenge, and that securing a safe, business friendly environment for Korean companies hoping to invest in the region is critical, with some suggesting ideas like creating an investment bank for financing.

"Experts emphasized that cooperation should start with small, feasible projects to build mutual trust,... and that long-term consistency is needed to turn the vision of the New Northern Policy into reality."
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.