Last year, President Moon Jae-in announced the New Southern Policy. 

Under this policy direction, Korea is looking beyond Northeast Asia to deepen bonds of cooperation with ASEAN and beyond. By forging a mutually beneficial partnership, the policy’s ultimate goal is to contribute to an even better quality of life for the peoples of both ASEAN and Korea -- and in so doing fostering a peaceful community of prosperity.
 
In this vein, AFoCO will be an important channel for us to translate this policy into real action. Cooperation under the AFoCO framework will take us a step closer to realizing the Future Community of ASEAN and Korea as envisioned by President Moon. And the cooperation with Mongolia, Kazakhstan, East Timor and Bhutan will also serve as a valuable basis for the organization to reach out to other parts of Asia, meaning that the AFoCO will truly emerge as a regional institution.

Lim Sung-nam is first vice minister of foreign affairs. — Ed.