On June 29, Secretary-General LIM Byung-jin met with representatives from nine Chinese provinces who attended the 2023 NEAR Working-level Workshop.

Mr. Lim expressed his gratitude to the representatives from nine Chinese provinces for attending the first offline workshop organized by the NEAR Secretariat in four years since the COVID-19 pandemic. He called on working-level officials to play an active role in the development of NEAR and cooperation among local governments in Northeast Asia.

In particular, the Gansu delegation was asked to build bridges so that Gansu can become a full member of NEAR at the General Assembly this coming October, as it is currently an observer.

In addition, on June 28, Mr. Lim also held separate meetings at the request of Jilin and Shandong Provinces. Mr. Lu Shuang, director of the Translation Center of Jilin Province, thanked Mr. Lim on behalf of Jilin Province for his significant contribution to the exchange and cooperation between Korea and Jilin Province during his tenure as a Korean consul-general in Shenyang and noted that Jilin Province hopes to expand exchange with local governments in Northeast Asia through NEAR as a platform.

YAN Dong, director of the Oceanographic Bureau, Shandong Province, said that Shandong has achieved a lot through seven events since the establishment of the NEAR Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries. He added that Shandong will continue to fulfill its duties as a coordinator in the years to come.

ZHAO Xiaoying, deputy-director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Liaoning Province, visited the NEAR Secretariat on June 27, the day before the working-level workshop. Ms. Zhao said that as Liaoning decided to become the 15th chair, she would work closely with the NEAR Secretariat to promote Liaoning’s exemplary policies and industries to local governments in Northeast Asia.  In addition, she requested the support of the NEAR Secretariat to ensure that Liaoning’s application to serve as a coordinator for the NEAR Subcommittee on Digital Economy would be approved at the 14th NEAR General Assembly scheduled to be held in Ulsan on October 25. If approved, the Subcommittee on Digital Economy will bring the total number of NEAR Subcommittees to 18.