Philippine Ambassador to ASEAN Elizabeth P. Buensuceso reiterated the support of the Philippines to the establishment of an ASEAN culture house in the Republic of Korea (ROK) in time for the proposed celebration of ASEAN-ROK Cultural Exchange Year in 2017.
Ambassador Buensuceso conveyed this during her meeting with ROK’s new Ambassador to ASEAN Suh Jeong In, who called on her at the Philippine Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta on 18 May 2015.
“We can launch it in 2017 during the Philippine chairmanship of ASEAN, which is also the 50th anniversary of ASEAN,” Ambassador Buensuceso told Ambassador Suh Jeong In. “This is a very important initiative of ROK, which is one of the most active Dialogue Partners of ASEAN in all areas.”
Ambassador Suh Jeong In thanked Ambassador Buensuceso for the Philippine support, saying that the establishment of the ASEAN culture house was his “baby,” a project he proposed when he was Director-General handling ASEAN affairs at the ROK’s Foreign Ministry. He said that the ASEAN culture house will play an important role in promoting tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and ROK. He added that funding for the ASEAN culture house has been secured and construction of the culture house in Busan is expected to begin soon.
At the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit on the 25th Anniversary of the ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations in Busan in December 2014, the Leaders of ASEAN and ROK welcomed “the designation of 2017 as the year of ASEAN-ROK Cultural Exchange, and appreciated ROK’s contribution in establishing an “ASEAN culture house” in ROK to enhance understanding of ASEAN and Southeast Asian culture in the ROK.”
Ambassador Buensuceso and Ambassador Suh Jeong In also agreed to closely coordinate and exchange views on political and security issues, including developments in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.
ASEAN and the ROK remain important trading partners. In 2013, two-way trade between ASEAN and ROK continued to grow and amounted to USD 135 billion compared with USD 131 billion the previous year. The ROK has maintained its position as the fifth largest trading partner of ASEAN, while ASEAN has become the second largest trade partner of the ROK. The two-way trade volume is expected to increase to USD 150 billion by 2015 as committed by the ASEAN-ROK Leaders at the 14th ASEAN-ROK Summit in November 2011. The foreign direct investment flow from the ROK to ASEAN has increased tremendously by 105.88% from USD 1.9 billion in 2012 to USD 3.5 billion in 2013. END
