News
S. Korea, 5 Mekong nations agree to widen cooperation
2017.9.1.
BUSAN, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and five Southeast Asian countries surrounding the Mekong River agreed on Friday to strengthen diplomatic and economic cooperation during an annual high-level meeting in the southern port city of Busan.The 7th Mekong-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting adopted a new action plan outlining the long-term vision and priority projects for their cooperation until 2020.
The conference was attended by the top diplomats of South Korea, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The action plan, the second of its kind, laid out a three-point partnership vision -- ASEAN connectivity, sustainable development and human-centered development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said.
It also enumerated key cooperation projects including infrastructure, information and communications technology, green growth, water management, human resources, and rural and agricultural development.
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Korea to give rice aid to developing nations
2017.9.6.
South Korea plans to give rice to developing nations after it joins an international food assistance convention as part of its ambition to stabilize the local rice supply and help the needy around the world, the farm ministry said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it is preparing steps to join the Food Assistance Convention, expecting parliamentary approval for the membership by the end of this year.
If approved, the ministry plans to ship about 50,000 tons of rice, worth 46 billion won ($40.5 million), next year.
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Korea’s CJ invests $61.8m in Vietnam-based food production complex
2017.7.26.
South Korean conglomerate CJ Corp, which acquired two Vietnamese food processors in the past seven months, said it was investing nearly VND1.4 trillion ($61.8 million) in an integrated production base in the Southeast Asian country.
The project covers a total area of 66,000 square metres, and is built to produce 70,000 tonnes of food per year. The expansion in Vietnam is expected to push the Korean group’s food business revenue to $700 million in 2020.
“CJ CheilJedang sees Vietnam as a strategic market in Southeast Asia. In the past year and this year, CJ focused on investment and expansion in the food business through a lot of M&A transactions,” said Kim Chul Ha, CEO of the Korean chaebol, in a statement.
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Implementation of SDGs should be country-led and country-owned
2017. 9. 21.
High Level Side Event- ‘The SDGs in Action: Country-Led, Country-Owned,’ organized by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and its Results Group on Sustainable Development and Sustaining Peace (Photo: Freya Morales/UNDP)
New York, 21 September- Making the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality will require new thinking and innovative partnerships between all stakeholders highlighted the high level side event –‘The SDGs in Action: Country-Led, Country-Owned,’ organized by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and its Results Group on Sustainable Development and Sustaining Peace.This high level side event organized at the helm of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly continues to advocate the nature of the 2030 Agenda—‘country-led and country-owned,’ as reflected at the UNDG high level event during the HLPF 2017 earlier this year, which discussed the support services offered by the UN Development System to the Member States to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
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OECD includes UNWTO in the list of Development Assistance Organizations
2017. 8. 1.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), representing thirty of the main donor countries, has included the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the List of ODA- eligible International Organizations.UNWTO’s inclusion in this list implies that countries´ financial contributions to the Organization such as membership fees can now be considered Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is funding that aims to advance economic development and welfare in developing countries. As such, contributions to the UNWTO can be part of the commitment of OECD DAC Members to dedicate 0,7% of Gross National Income to ODA. Furthermore, voluntary contributions for UNWTO activities and technical cooperation projects in any of the 146 ODA- beneficiary countries continue to be considered as well as ODA.
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