NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin had a meeting and banquet with Chinese Consul-General Jin Il-pyo in Busan who visited Pohang city and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest on August 11th (Tue).
During the meeting, Secretary-General Lim introduced the results of his recent official visits to Beijing and Qinghai Province of China, as well as the major events held in the first half of this year, including 3 subcommittees, the High-Level Working Committee hosted by the NEAR Chair Government, a workshop for member governments organized by the Secretariat, and government officials training program. He also introduced the major events scheduled for the second half of the year, including the 「Northeast Asia+2 Local Cooperation Forum」 on August 20, attended by members of the diplomatic corps in Korea and journalists; the 「2026 NEAR Youth Policy Forum」, to be held as a session of the 「2026 World Gyeongju Forum」 on October 9; and the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum」 on November 12, which will be attended by Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do and former NEAR Chairpersons, among others.
He also highly commended the role played by Chinese member governments in the development of NEAR, explaining that he’s making efforts to encourage more Chinese regional governments, including Beijing, Hebei Province, and Jiangxi Province, to join NEAR as new members. He requested that the Consulate General continue to take an interest in NEAR and provide flank support.
Consul-General Jin highly praised NEAR for having played an important role over the past 30 years not only in promoting exchanges and cooperation among regional governments in Korea and China, but also in fostering cooperation among regional governments across Northeast Asia. He noted that NEAR has recently expanded its scope to Central Asia and ASEAN, developing into a more significant international cooperation organization. He further stated that the Consulate General would continue to actively support NEAR’s activities going forward.
He also requested cooperation, to the extent possible, in facilitating the swift establishment of a friendship city relationship between Pohang City and Binhai New Area of Tianjin.
Meanwhile, Consul-General Jin Il-pyo invited Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin to a reception commemorating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which will be held in Busan on September 17.