Lee Mi-kyung, KOICA President, Emphasizes "Achieving Peace for Sustainable Development" at Pyeongchang Peace Forum

Presentation on 'Sustainable Development Goals and Peace'
KOICA Strengthens Linked International Development Cooperation Projects, Making Peace a Core Institutional Value

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA Chairperson Lee Mi-kyung delivered a keynote presentation on "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Peace" as a co-chair at the opening session of the "2020 Pyeongchang Peace Forum," held on the 9th at the Alpensia Convention Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.

The Pyeongchang Peace Forum, now in its second year following last year, is an international forum that inherits the spirit of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to discuss peace-building on the Korean Peninsula and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The co-chairs of the Pyeongchang Peace Forum include KOICA Chairperson Lee Mi-kyung, Hal Jones, Director of the Geneva Leadership Public Policy Institute, Gunilla Lindberg, Executive Board Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings, and Choi Jae-chun, Distinguished Professor at Ewha Womans University.

In her presentation, Chairperson Lee stated, "KOICA upholds 'Peace' as one of the institution's core values called the '4Ps' alongside People, Prosperity, and Planet, based on the premise that 'sustainable development is not possible without peace, and peace cannot be achieved without sustainable development.' We are promoting development cooperation projects aimed at achieving sustainable peace."

She added, "The values of the 4Ps are closely interconnected, and given the high interdependence between peace and development, KOICA strives to identify development cooperation projects from the perspective of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus, which is emphasized by the international community."

Furthermore, Chairperson Lee highlighted that in the Mekong region countries within Asia, such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, remnants of war and conflict like unexploded ordnance and landmines continue to cause physical and psychological suffering to victims. She revealed that KOICA is currently implementing the "Mekong Peace Village Creation Program," which combines landmine clearance activities with rural development projects to transform landmine-contaminated areas in Mekong countries into peaceful villages.

Chairperson Lee emphasized, "Peace does not come by itself; it is brought about by the faith and actions of all of us. I hope the Pyeongchang Peace Forum serves as an opportunity for participants to become Peace Makers." She stressed, "If we gather our hearts and passion for peace together in Pyeongchang, where the seeds of peace were sown two years ago, inheriting the spirit of Pyeongchang Peace, we can come a little closer to the peace we dream of."