A meeting was held in Vientiane, Laos between ASEAN, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and other Asian nations on September 30-October 1, looking forward setting up a Dialogue-ASEAN-RoK Forest Cooperation (AFoCO) in 2015.

Speaking at the event, the fourth of its kind, Lao Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vilayvanh Phomkhe held high regard for the role of forests and forestry in Asia and the world at large.

He called on delegates to support the RoK’s proposal pertaining to the establishment of Dialogue-AFoCO, which is believed to enable countries in Southeast Asia and Asia generally to learn ways to restore forests and manage them sustainably.

ASEAN and the RoK committed to continuing extending the AFoCo Agreement and intensifying cooperation to increase forest coverage and recovery within the bloc.

RoK has sponsored over 1 million USD for Viet Nam’s forestry protection and development efforts since 2002.

(Source: VNA)