President Moon Jae-in speaks during the weekly senior secretariat meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on July 16. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Kim Min-Jeung
President Moon Jae-in said that a new Asian era is approaching, and that “the two axes holding up the New Southern Policy are India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).” .
“Through the recent state visits, we have built a firm base for Korea to strengthen its ties with India and ASEAN raising them to the level of Korea’s relations with the four major powers of the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.”
During the weekly senior secretariat meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on July 16, President Moon also said that the New Southern Policy has begun already and that, “It will act as the key strategy and drive toward Korea’s prosperity and national development, as well as being the main core of the new economic map we wish to draw.”
“A firm groundwork for the New Southern Policy has been laid through the Indonesian state visit and ASEAN summit in November, the Vietnam state visit in March, the Philippine president’s visit to Korea in June, and finally, recent India and Singapore state visits this July,” he said.
The president also emphasized that, “The government will carry out a system to realize the New Southern Policy and swiftly execute agreed matters between summits through specific projects so that the citizens and companies can actually feel the results.”
jer2co@korea.kr
