TCS

On January 26, 2023, Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) received a delegation from ROK Ministry of Personnel Management (MPM) led by LEE Eunhyo, Director of International Cooperation. TCS Deputy Secretary-General BEK Bumhym exchanged greetings with the MPM delegation. TCS Director (Socio-Cultural Affairs) LI Guanyu and GSS KIM Juyoung had a working level meeting with the delegation. Both sides introduced the functions of their respective institutes, and exchanged their views on the future working plan under the framework of China-Japan-Korea Personnel Policy Network. They agreed on a deepened cooperation in the 15th Joint Training Program for Young/Middle Level Public Officials in this year as well as 10th Heads Meetings of Personnel Authorities to be held on 2025 hosted by MPM for both.▲Group photo

On January 16, the delegation of Japanese Parliamentarians paid a visit to TCS and exchanged views with Deputy Secretary-General SAKATA Natsuko. The delegation consists of Mr. SHIOZAKI Akihisa, Ms. MATSUKAWA Rui, former TCS Deputy Secretary-General of the 1st Consultative Board, Mr. KANDA Junichi, and Mr. ARAI Yutaka.DSG SAKATA welcomed the delegation and introduced the development of TCS and trilateral cooperation including ministerial meetings, emphasizing the upgraded role of TCS for its next decade. Furthermore, DSG SAKATA shared the upcoming TCS programs including the TYEN Launch Event (Feb. 10), Young Ambassador Program (Feb. 7 to Feb. 21), 2nd Trilateral Youth Speech Contest Finals (Feb. 10), CJK Local City Exchange, Trilateral Statistics Hub, and newly released TCVD Chit Chat Videos.The delegation was impressed with the aspirations and energies among young TCS staff, and each of them provided the staff with words of encouragement.Group Photo: (From left to right in the back row) The second person from the left: Parliamentarian KANDA Junichi, Parliamentarian MATSUKAWA Rui, Parliamentarian SHIOZAKI Akihisa, Parliamentarian ARAI Yutaka

On January 12, 2023, the TCS delegation headed by Secretary-General OU Boqian (SG OU) paid a courtesy call to Deputy Minister of Political Affairs CHOI Young-sam of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ROK MOFA) to exchange views on the direction of trilateral cooperation this year.SG OU expressed gratitude for the ROK MOFA’s continued support and highlighted the achievements of the TCS in the past year. She emphasized that despite the hardships brought about by the ongoing pandemic, the TCS was able to carry out 120 vigorous activities, including new initiatives in 2022, owing to the support of the three governments of China, Japan, and the ROK. She also shared with Deputy Minister about the upcoming events and planned activities this year and requested ROK MOFA’s support and cooperation.Deputy Minister CHOI appreciated and congratulated the efforts made by the TCS and expressed his support for the TCS and its activities. He emphasized the strong will of the ROK government to resume the trilateral dialogues and strengthen cooperation. He requested support from the TCS to facilitate communication among the Ministries.After the meeting with the Deputy Minister, SG OU met with the Director-General of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau, Mr. CHOI Yong-jun, and shared the achievements of the TCS in 2022 as well as its plans for 2023. SG OU expressed her hope that the progress of trilateral consultative mechanisms would soon be back on track when the pandemic situation improves and TCS will stand ready to provide support.Director-General CHOI agreed that the most crucial task for trilateral cooperation is to strengthen the consultative mechanisms and reiterated the ROK MOFA’s strong will to resume trilateral dialogues this year. SG OU and Director-General CHOI agreed to keep close communication and reaffirmed each organization’s full support of each other.

On January 10, 2023, Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) Secretary General OU Boqian met with Ambassador LEE Choongmyon, President of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA).SG OU thanked IFANS and KNDA for the continued support for trilateral coopeartion and TCS projects. She briefed him on the Network of Trilateral Cooperation Think-Tanks (NTCT) Conference, an annual project co-hosted by KNDA. Expressing her hopes for further cooperation, SG OU also shared upcoming TCS projects in 2023 including the Trilateral Visionary Group (TVG) and the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation (IFTC).President LEE responded by expressing his gratitute to SG OU for the visit. Expressing his interest in the upcoming TCS projects, President LEE noted that IFANS is ready to provide necessary support.▲ TCS SG OU Boqian and IFANS President LEE Choongmyon