On September 9, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin met with Wen Nuan, Vice Governor of Shandong Province, in Qingdao, China during the 9th NEAR Subcommittee on Ocean and Fisheries (Dialogue of Mayors of Marine Cities). The two sides exchanged views on future cooperation.
Secretary-General Lim shared recent NEAR activities and highlighted Shandong Province’s active participation in NEAR. He congratulated Shandong on successfully hosting this year's Subcommittee meeting alongside the Marine Development Forum. He noted, “Shandong Province and Qingdao City possess abundant international cooperation experience and robust research infrastructure in the marine economy, making them core NEAR members poised to lead the development of the ocean and fisheries sector not only in Northeast Asia but also globally.” Lim emphasized that the NEAR Secretariat value its cooperation with Shandong and will actively support its exchanges and cooperation with other NEAR member governments.
Vice Governor Wen outlined the current status of Shandong Province and responded, “As a strong maritime province, Shandong places great importance to cooperation with NEAR. We will continue to vitalize NEAR’s activities, particularly the Subcommittee on Ocean and Fisheries.”
The meeting was also attended by Lu Jie, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shandong Provincial People’s Government; Sun Yebao, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Province; Wang Rentang, Director-General of the Shandong Ocean Bureau; and Wang Bo, Vice Mayor of Qingdao. Representing NEAR were Choi Juhwa, Director of International Cooperation, Lee Seung-yoon, Director of the Safety Experience Center of Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corporation, and Lee Jong-yeol, Team Leader of the Marine Leisure Team of Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corporation.