NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin visited the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council on August 13 (Thursday) and paid a courtesy call on Kim Hee-soo, Chairman of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council.
Secretary-General Lim first congratulated Chairman Kim Hee-soo on his election to a fifth consecutive term as a member of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council and on his election as Chairman of the Council. He also expressed his appreciation for the Council’s active support regarding the full funding of the NEAR Secretariat’s operating expenses covered by Gyeongsangbuk-do.
He also briefed Chairman Kim on NEAR’s major achievements during the first half of this year and its key events planned for the second half, including the 「NEAR+2 Local Cooperation Forum」 inviting diplomatic corps (August 20), the 「NEAR Youth Policy Cooperation Forum」 to be held in conjunction with the World Gyeongju Forum on October 9, and the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum」(November 12). He also invited Chairman Kim to attend the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum」, which will be held in Gyeongju this November.
He also noted that the 「NEAR Local Government Councils Forum」, successfully held last year, received positive feedback from local council leaders. He proposed that, if the Council could provide additional budgetary support, NEAR would consider organizing a 「NEAR+2 Local Councils Forum」.
In response, Chairman Kim Hee-soo praised NEAR, stating that “it has been successfully developing into a key platform for promoting exchanges and cooperation among regional governments, extending beyond Northeast Asia to encompass Central Asia and ASEAN through its continued scope expansion and enhanced platform activities.
He said that, barring exceptional circumstances, he would attend the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum」 scheduled to be held in November. Regarding the proposed 「NEAR+2 Local Councils Forum」, he said that the Council would review the matter over time.
Chairman Kim Hee-soo, a five-term council member representing Pohang since 2010, has served as Chairman of the 13th Gyeongsangbuk-do Council since July this year, drawing on his extensive experience in local council affairs.