The 11th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum took place in Amman, Jordan, on December 21,
co-hosted by Korea-Arab Society, Jeju Peace Institute and the Arab Thought Forum.

At the forum, Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote speech entitled “The Middle East in Transition and Korea’s Foreign Policy toward the Middle East.” In the speech, he mentioned that in the interconnected world, what takes place in the Middle East in transition immediately impacts the Korea’s daily lives in many different ways, including in economy, national security and the safety of its people. He went on say that in order to deal with the situation, Korea will implement its foreign policy toward the Middle East in a way that it plays a due role conducive to peace and prosperity in the region and builds a durable partnership with the region based on shared visions and goals. To this end, he proposed the following five key policy directions.

a. Building a two-way economic partnership that goes beyond the existing areas of cooperation in energy and construction and features diversification and future-orientedness toward the coming post-oil age.

b. Gearing up Korea’s diplomacy towards contributing to Middle East peace in various fields, including politics, security and humanitarian contribution.

c. Conducting heart-to-heart diplomacy in a way that reinforces economic partnership and political cooperation.

d. Synchronizing Korea’s bilateral diplomacy with its regional diplomacy in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

e. Enhancing Korea’s strategic communication through diverse means.

In addition, Minister Yun brought attention to the fact that the Park Geun-hye government’s vision of “global happiness” is based on the value of human dignity, adding that the Middle Eastern problems cannot be fundamentally resolved without addressing this value. He also stressed that Korea and the Middle East, which share similar historical experiences, are perfect partners for meeting the momentous transitional challenges facing the region based on such universal values.
 




 
At the forum themed “Building Comprehensive Partnership towards a New Horizon,” some 150 people from 13 Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Qatar and Jordan, were offered presentations and engaged in heated discussions on the situation in the Middle East and Korea’s policy direction toward the region; ways to diversify the economic cooperation between Korea and Middle Eastern countries; and ways to expand cultural exchanges between the two regions.

In particular, in the forum’s final “session for younger generations,” next-generation leaders of Korea and Middle Eastern countries delivered presentations on their perspectives on the Korea-Middle East relations. 

The Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum, first held in 2003, has become a key platform for discussion between the two sides, bringing together people from various walks of life, including the political, economic, academic and media sectors, of the two to seek ways to promote mutual understanding and cooperation. In particular, the latest round was attended by Korea's Foreign Minister and Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, further highlighting its significance.