Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is an honor to join all of you this morning.

I would like to echo others in thanking Minister Saleumxay Kommasith for his hospitality and leadership.

I also wish to acknowledge my fellow Ministers of the Plus Three, Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Minister Wang Yi.

The presence of Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas of Timor-Leste adds further significance to this meeting.

Excellencies and colleagues,

The ROK has been working together with its ASEAN and Plus Three partners to make a meaningful progress towards a stronger ASEAN Plus Three framework this year.

First, last May in Seoul, the ROK hosted the Ninth Trilateral Summit, which brought together the leaders of the ROK, Japan, and the People’s Republic of China.

The Summit, coming after a four-year hiatus, marked a significant turning point and the culmination of efforts by the ROK and its two partners to successfully rejuvenate the trilateral cooperation mechanism.

I am pleased to share with you that all three leaders saw deeper trilateral cooperation in the ASEAN context as a priority and expressed strong support for ASEAN Centrality and Unity.

Second, the ROK and the Lao PDR co-hosted the ASEAN Plus Three Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in May.

The Member States agreed on measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization.

This includes adopting a paid-in capital structure and the Rapid Financing Facility, which would significantly increase our collective resilience against unexpected financial shocks.

Third, we have also successfully enhanced the effectiveness of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.

As the largest donor, the ROK will contribute 10 thousand tons of rice to the reserve this year, more than doubling its contribution from last year.

In such a way, we are putting into action President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pledge at the ASEAN Plus Three Summit last year to further support countries facing food crises.

Excellencies and colleagues,

The ROK is poised to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN at the upcoming October Summit.

This upgrade will complete the final link in the chain of such Partnerships between ASEAN and all Plus Three countries, opening new opportunities for further cooperation.

On that brief note, I look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions today.

Thank you.