Pacific Island leaders ‘welcome’ Busan’s Expo bid during summit visit

Diplomacy

Pacific Island leaders ‘welcome’ Busan’s Expo bid during summit visit

Published: 30 May. 2023, 17:54

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, sixth from the right in the front row, and leaders of Pacific Islands take a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Korea International Cooperation Conference on Oceans and Fisheries held at a hotel in Busan Tuesday afternoon. The Pacific Island leaders took part in the inaugural Korea-Pacific Islands Summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

The leaders of the Pacific Islands on Tuesday visited Busan to tour the potential venue of World Expo 2030 during a visit to Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol aimed at bolstering cooperation with the growingly influential region.

On Monday, Yoon hosted the inaugural Korea-Pacific Islands Summit and adopted with the Pacific Island leaders an action plan calling for strengthened climate responses and expanded economic and development cooperation.

Leaders and senior officials of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), an 18-member intergovernmental body aimed at enhancing regional cooperation, took part in the two-day summit.

Korea has stressed the importance of the Pacific Islands as it asserts its own Indo-Pacific strategy as the region is emerging as a new area of strategic competition as the United States and China increasingly try to exert influence in the resource-rich region.

The summit, with the theme of "Navigating towards Co-Prosperity: Strengthening Cooperation with the Blue Pacific," was co-chaired by Yoon and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown.

"I hope that Korea and the Pacific Island nations, our neighbors on the same boat in the vast Pacific Ocean, will sail vigorously for common prosperity," Yoon said in his opening remarks at the summit, calling it an "an important milestone marking the new beginning of cooperation between the two sides."

The "Action Plan for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity in the Pacific" called for resilience against climate change and infectious diseases, sustainable economic and development cooperation and strengthening human and digital connectivity.

Korea pledged to double its official development assistance (ODA) for Pacific Island nations to $39.9 million by 2027.

Korea and the PIF members will also cooperate in areas such as economic development, marine fisheries, the digital sector, agriculture and maritime security for the sustainable development of the Pacific Islands.

Likewise, Korea will contribute to the economic and social development of the Pacific Islands by providing policy recommendations and sharing its knowledge and experiences tailored to their needs.

The two sides also adopted a joint leaders' declaration which called to strengthen cooperation between the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the PIF's long-term development strategy, and Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy "as key partners to effectively address global challenges and co-prosper."

The islands are referred to as the Blue Pacific Continent because of their massive exclusive economic zones, which are rich in marine produce and deep-sea mineral resources.

They stressed that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are "a direct and serious threat to international peace and security," while the PIF leaders pledged continued support for Korea's "Audacious Initiative" for a denuclearized, peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

The leaders focused on cooperation in the areas of sustainable development; climate change, environment, disaster risk and resilience; ocean, maritime affairs and fisheries and people-to-people exchanges.

They called for working together for natural disaster management and effective conservation and management of marine resources. They also noted it is critical to keep the ocean and maritime resources "free of environmental pollution by radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter."

Korea also requested the support of the PIF for Busan's bid for hosting the World Expo 2030 in Busan.

The PIF leaders in turn "welcomed Korea's willingness to share the development experience and present a vision for sustainable development in rising to the challenges faced by the international community" through its bid to host the World Expo in Busan.

The 17 PIF members that took part were Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Tonga, Palau, Niue, Nauru, Kiribati, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, and first lady Kim Keon-hee take a commemorative photo at an official dinner for leaders of the Pacific Islands at a hotel in central Seoul Monday after holding the inaugural Korea-Pacific Islands Summit. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Yoon also held bilateral summits with the PIF leaders for a second day Monday, including the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Niue and Palau.

On Monday evening, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee held an official dinner for the leaders, attended by business leaders including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other executives of Korea's top conglomerates.

Kim separately hosted the spouses of the PIF leaders in a fellowship program sharing Korea's art and culture, visiting the National Museum of Korea and Jingwansa, a Buddhist temple in northern Seoul.

On Tuesday, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon hosted a luncheon for the Pacific Island leaders in the southern port city, an opportunity to further discuss cooperation on climate response and economic development.

The Pacific Island leaders also took part in the Korea International Cooperation Conference on Oceans and Fisheries, attended by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Busan Mayor Park and PIF officials and Korean maritime experts.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]