외교부

                                                            제26차 아세안+3 외교장관회의 모두발언

                                                                      (2025.7.10, 말레이시아)

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to echo others in expressing gratitude to Minister Mohamad and your team for warm hospitality and wonderful arrangement. My appreciation also extends to Minister Iwaya for your leadership as the chair of the Trilateral Cooperation.

Excellencies,

The ROK has been working together with its neighbors, Japan and China, to revitalize the Trilateral Cooperation.

In particular, I would like to highlight President Lee’s phone calls with Prime Minister Ishiba and President Xi

within a week after assuming office on June 4th. I hope the reinvigorated trilateral cooperation and

the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism will continue to build on each other.

Since 1997, the ASEAN Plus Three has produced practical and tangible achievements in addressing regional challenges, including financial crisis, natural disasters, and COVID-19. As acknowledged at the Finance Ministers Meeting in May, the ASEAN Plus Three is expected to remain a key driver of the global economy, contributing to more than 40 percent of global growth over the medium term. In this regard, the role of the ASEAN Plus Three has become all the more important today, amid rising global geopolitical and economic uncertainties.

Finance, food security, and future generation empowerment are perhaps the three areas where the mechanism

has achieved most tangible outcomes.

On finance, Korea co-hosted the APT Finance Ministers’ Meeting with Lao PDR last year, where member states agreed to strengthen the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation by introducing the Rapid Financing Facility.

On food security,

Korea has been the largest contributor to the APT Emergency Rice Reserve since its establishment in 2013, providing nearly 70% of the whole stockpile.

On future generation empowerment, the APT Center for Gifted in Science holds student camp and teachers workshop every December in Korea. Over 1,400 students and 400 teachers have benefited from the Center’s activities.

As one of the most comprehensive and functional mechanisms in the region, the ASEAN Plus Three can do more to jointly tackle challenges common to the region.

I look forward to hearing your valuable insights on exploring these areas and on pooling our efforts.

Excellencies,

Allow me to close my opening remarks by reaffirming Korean Government’s emphasis on ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms, as well as our support for ASEAN Centrality.

The Korean Government will work with ASEAN, Japan and China to translate the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 into concrete ASEAN Plus Three cooperation.

Thank you.