From October 22 to 23, Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin met with Hou Xibao, Vice-Head of the Hunan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, and Zhou Yijun, Vice-President of the Friendship Association of Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress, during his attendance in the NEAR Subcommittee on Innovation Plus held in Hunan Province.
During his meeting with Vice-Head Hou, Mr. Lim expressed his gratitude for organizing the special session on “Practical Case Sharing for Sustainable Development of Tourism and Ecology,” deeply appreciating the academy’s efforts.
Additionally, Mr. Lim expressed appreciation for the participation of many key figures from the academies of NEAR member governments in this subcommittee event. He also stated that plans are pursued not only for cooperation among NEAR member governments but also for collaboration among NEAR think tanks in the future.
In response, Mr. Hou shared that his participation in the NEAR International Forum last December allowed him to recognize the utility of the NEAR platform, and he affirmed his willingness to participate in various NEAR events in the future.
On October 23, in a separate meeting with Vice-President Zhou, Mr. Lim introduced NEAR, explaining its operational structure and highlighting various NEAR events.
Mr. Lim noted that Jiangxi Province is the only region among those designated under China’s “Rise of Central China” policy that has not yet joined NEAR. He requested Jiangxi’s official joining of NEAR membership, emphasizing that it would promote both the development of Jiangxi Province and the exchange and cooperation among Northeast Asian local governments.
Vice-President Zhou replied that he would report to the Jiangxi Provincial Government on the results of his participation in the High-Level Working Committee (in September) and the Subcommittee on Innovation Plus. He expressed his commitment to working towards obtaining Jiangxi’s NEAR membership.