1.     The First ASEAN-Republic of Korea Dialogue was held in Kuching, Sarawak on 11-13 May l993 to review Dialogue relations and development cooperation programmes between the two sides. The Meeting was attended by delegations of ASEAN member countries and the Republic of Korea, representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat as well as the representatives of the ASEAN-Korea Business Council (AKBC).

2.     The Meeting was jointly chaired by H.E. Mr. Hasmy Agam, Director-General of ASEAN-Malaysia and H.E. Mr. Sun Joun Yung, Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea.

3.     In their opening remarks, the two Co-Chairmen emphasised the significance of the meeting, being the firsts in since the Republic of Korea became a full dialogue partner in 1991 and hoped that it would lay the foundation for enhanced cooperation between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.

4.     The Meeting reiterated the important role of the private sector in the ASEAN-Republic of Korea dialogue relationship and expected that the private sector would make its due contribution towards the overall ASEAN-Republic of Korea economic cooperation.

5.     The Meeting had an extensive discussion and exchange of views on the various issues relating to trade, investment, tourism, commodities, science and technology and human resource development. The Meeting was of the view that trade remained the thrust of ASEAN-Republic of Korea relations. In this context, the meeting noted the Republic of Korea's on-going efforts to improve market access of products of ASEAN interest.

6.     The Meeting was informed of investment opportunities that would arise as a result of the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the revised ASEAN Industrial Joint Venture (AIJV). In this regard, ASEAN calls the Republic of Korea to avail itself of this opportunity.

7.     The Meeting recognised the importance of the tourism industry in promoting people-to-people contact between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea and agreed, inter alia, to promote closer cooperation in two-way tourism including tourism related investment.

8.     On international commodity issues, both sides agreed to continue to undertake cooperative efforts as well as creating a more open world trading system on commodities and processed products and towards stabilizing prices and promoting downstream processing.

9.     In the field of development cooperation, the Republic of Korea expressed its willingness to share its knowledge and experiences in Research and Development in the field of science and technology. In this connection, the Republic of Korea agreed to participate at the 4th ASEAN Science and Technology Week to be held in Thailand in 1995. The Republic of Korea had also proposed a special training course exclusively for ASEAN in the field of Human Resource Development under the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

10.     The meeting reviewed the status of various development cooperation projects including those successfully implemented such as ASEAN Travel Fair in Seoul and the Computer E-mail System since ASEAN and the Republic of Korea last met in 1991.

11.     The Meeting agreed to hold its Second Dialogue in the later half of 1994 in Korea on a date to be mutually agreed upon.

12.     The Meeting was held in the spirit of cooperation and cordiality. The delegations of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the Republic of Korea as well as the representatives of the AKBC expressed their deep appreciation for the excellent arrangements and warm hospitality accorded by the Government of Malaysia and the State Government and people of Sarawak.