- Photo: Lim Byung-jin (Secretary-General of NEAR), Lee Hee-sup (Secretary-General of TCS), Lee Jang-geun (Director of International Relations Support at GAOK), and five Ambassadors for International Relations-
Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin hosted the Ambassador for International Relations Dialogue with Ambassadors for International Relations of Korean Member Governments bringing together approximately 30 participants, including six Ambassadors for International Relations and working-level officials from Korean member governments including Daegu Metropolitan City, Daejeon Metropolitan City, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Jeollanam-do on 18 March, at the Gyeongju Hilton Hotel.
Following last year, the meeting also included Lee Hee-sup, Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), and Lee Jang-geun, Director of the International Relations Support Office at the Governors Association of Korea (GAOK).
The meeting proceeded with a review of business performance over the years in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of NEAR’s founding in 2026, starting with a NEAR promotional video, and followed by the introduction of major projects planned for this year. Participants then engaged in in-depth discussions on NEAR’s development plan for the next 30 years and strategies to enhance the participation of Korean member governments in NEAR.
In his opening remarks, Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin expressed his gratitude, stating, "This year, there are many vacancies (7) for Ambassadors for International Relations, and I carefully considered whether to convene this meeting due to personnel changes in heads of diplomatic missions (3), but as the valuable opinions of the Ambassadors have been of great help to NEAR’s operations, I decided to hold it this year even if it is on a small scale," and added: "With the active cooperation and support of the Ambassadors, NEAR has been able to establish itself as a representative multilateral exchange platform among Northeast Asian local governments."
-Photo: Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin with Ambassadors for International Relations from five Korean member governments and relevant working-level officials -
The attending Ambassadors for International Relations noted that NEAR has played an important role in expanding exchange and cooperation among Northeast Asian local governments over the past 30 years, despite ongoing geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges in the region , and presented various opinions such as:
· measures to identify projects that reflect the interests of local governments and broaden stakeholder participation,
· exploration of new areas of cooperation on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of NEAR
· the need to enhance NEAR’s effectiveness through more active local-level exchanges as it continues to develop as an international organization.
Following the meeting, the Ambassadors for International Relations of domestic member governments also actively participated in a dinner hosted by the NEAR Secretary-General, which was also attended by Kim Sook, Executive Director of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, and Yu Min-bong, Secretary-General of GAOK, and the opening ceremony of the “NEAR Member Government Workshop” held on 19 March, as well as one-on-one networking sessions designed to facilitate multilateral and bilateral exchange between member governments.
The various opinions presented at this meeting will be duly reflected in the operation of the NEAR Secretariat in the future.