President Park Geun-hye, together with other ASEAN Plus Three (APT) leaders, attended the APT Leaders’ Interface with the East Asia Business Council (EABC) in the afternoon on Nov. 21.
President Park talked with the members of the EABC and echoed a proposal put forth by the EABC Chairman about the participation of SMEs in e-commerce and ways to stimulate such participation. She also reaffirmed Korea’ commitment to taking the lead in promoting e-commerce.
In regard to the EABC’s suggestion that negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) be expedited to promote regional integration, President Park expressed her full support in favor of accelerated negotiations for its earliest possible conclusion.
For future cooperation, the President proposed that countries involved strengthen functional cooperation, a strong point of the APT framework, faithfully implement the East Asia Vision Group II`s follow-up action plans and bolster cooperation between ASEAN and the Northeast Asian region.
Speaking of regional affairs, President Park said the North Korean nuclear problem needed to be solved without fail for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia. In that regard, she stressed that the international community should send a unified message to the North in a consistent manner to bring about changes in the country.
The leaders attending the APT Summit adopted the “ASEAN Community Vision 2025” and the final report on follow-up measures of the East Asia Vision Group II.
