Ministry of Strategy and Finance of the Republic o : 14th Meeting on Greater Tumen Development Initiative

The 14th Great Tumen Initiative (GTI) Consultative Commission* was held in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on October 30.

* The GTI is a regional cooperation consultative body whose aim is to promote economic development cooperation in the Tumen River regions of the North East Asia, and the GTI projects are planned and coordinated through the annual GTI Consultative Commission.

Representatives of the four GTI member countries, Korea, China, Russia and Mongolia, and those of related international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the German Development Agency (GIZ), attended the annual commission. Local governments in the region which are interested in the GTI, including Japanese local governments, also sent their representatives.

The meeting discussed new cooperation projects, and checked on the progress of projects underway by sector*.

* The GTI has boards of six sectors, which deal with energy, tourism, environment, transportation, trade and regional cooperation.

The meeting reached an agreement on legal issues to further develop the GTI into an international organization which facilitates integrating Northeast Asian economies, and decided to increase support for the GTI. One of major topics of discussion was proper utilization of the Northeast Asian Export-Import Bank, such as by having the bank carry out its own development projects. Korea took the lead in the establishment of the bank.

Korea proposed launching a board for the agricultural sector, regularly holding the GTI International Trade and Investment Expo and setting up a strong network among policy research institutions, all of which were supported by the member countries.

The commission released a joint statement for sustainable regional development and cooperation.

The 15th commission will be held in Peking, China in 2014.

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