Trade minister discusses cooperation with Asean think tank chief

Korea's trade minister, Cheong In-kyo, met with the head of Asean's leading economic policy think tank, Tetsuya Watanabe, to discuss cooperation in trade, investment and supply chains.

Korea's trade minister, Cheong In-kyo, right, and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia chief Tetsuya Watanabe shake hands after a meeting in Seoul on Monday. [MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY]

Korea's trade minister, Cheong In-kyo, met with the head of Asean's leading economic policy think tank to discuss cooperation in trade, investment and supply chains.

Cheong met with Tetsuya Watanabe, president of the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA), at the Seoul headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday, where an agenda on comprehensive economic cooperation was discussed.

The two leaders also held follow-up talks to the Korea-Asean summit held last year, going through topics like expanding trade and investments while cooperating on supply chains and achieving a clean economy.

Cheong gave a briefing on the launch of a dialogue channel among think tanks in the Asean region to research new trade policy issues. The channel vies to become a discussion platform among think tank leaders in the Asean region and in Korea.

The minister asked for ERIA's support for the platform as the organization has vast experience and a broad network in the Asean economy.

ERIA, headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, was founded in 2007 during the East Asia Summit. Its network encompasses 16 research institutes including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

Cheong acknowledged ERIA's contribution to the strengthened partnership between Korea and the Asean region that spans from the economy to social and cultural fields. The association of nations is Korea's second-biggest trade partner and is a destination for direct investment from Korea as well.

The two sides are poised to elevate their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest partnership level between the Southeast Asian group and its dialogue partners, in October.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]