KCCI Hosts Dinner Inviting Leaders of 11 Pacific Island Countries

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Park Seung-hee, President of Samsung Electronics, and CEOs of 12 Major Corporations Gather Together

On the 28th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) hosted a welcome dinner at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul Aston House, inviting leaders from Pacific Island countries. The event was organized to celebrate the first-ever summit between Korea and the Pacific Island countries and to promote economic cooperation based on the practical needs of the Pacific Island countries, such as marine fisheries and renewable energy issues.

Attending the dinner were high-level officials from 11 countries, including Tepaeuru Herman Cook, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Federated States of Micronesia and chair country of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); Viliame Gavoka, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji; Siaosi Sovaleni, Prime Minister of Tonga; Kausea Natano, Prime Minister of Tuvalu; Ishmael Kalsakau, Prime Minister of Vanuatu; Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati; James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea; Dalton Tagelagi, Prime Minister of Niue; Moetai Brotherson, President of French Polynesia; Timothy John Ika, Minister of Health of Nauru; and Cedric Schuster, Minister of Environment of Samoa.

From Korea, about 40 people attended the event, including Taewon Choi, Chairman of KCCI; Seunghee Park, President of Samsung Electronics; Hyunghee Lee, Chairman of SK Communications Committee; Dongwook Kim, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company; Beomjong Ha, President of LG; Gap Lee, Vice President of Lotte Holdings; Tak Jung, Vice Chairman of POSCO International; Hyunwoo Shin, President of Hanwha Aerospace; Muhyun Woo, President of GS Engineering & Construction; Samhyun Ga, Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries; Gi Hong Woo, President of Korean Air; Eunhong Min, CEO of Dongwon Industries; Chigon Kim, CEO of Sajo Industries; and Kang Jaegwon, Economic Diplomacy Coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is giving a greeting speech at the Korea-Thailand Digital Economy Cooperation Summit welcome dinner.
[Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

The Pacific Island countries refer to 14 nations located in the central, western, and southern Pacific Ocean. The combined population of these 14 countries is approximately 12.2 million. Their GDP (PPP) is around 53 billion USD. Although their population and economic scale are not large, 12 of the Pacific Island countries are members of the United Nations’ 38 Small Island Developing States (SIDS), granting them recognized diplomatic influence in the international community. The exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Pacific Island countries cover 14% of the world’s ocean area (1,910,000 km²), rich in marine fisheries resources and deep-sea mineral resources. Geographically, they are located midway along one of the three major trade routes, the Pacific route, making them a strategic hub for international maritime routes. This strategic value has recently been newly recognized, intensifying diplomatic competition among major countries.

KCCI announced that it opened the ‘Pacific Island Countries Pavilion’ on the WAVE platform on the same day. WAVE is a ‘solution platform’ launched in March to discuss global challenges and gather wisdom. In line with the Pacific Island countries’ summit dinner, KCCI plans to start opening pavilions for each country on the platform and aims to build pavilions for all countries worldwide online by November.

Taehui Woo, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI, said, “Although the Pacific Island countries have small populations and territories, they have immense development potential based on the vast scale of their exclusive economic zones. We should expand cooperation in various fields such as climate change, marine fisheries, and healthcare through this summit.”