On the evening of Wednesday, June 11, Wang Xinwei, Governor of Liaoning Province and Chair of the Association of North East Asia Regional Governments (NEAR), hosted a formal reception and welcome dinner for member government delegations attending the 15th NEAR General Assembly.
The group reception was attended by NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin and 28 representatives from NEAR member governments across six countries: Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. On the Chinese side, the reception was attended by key officials including Governor Wang Xinwei, Vice Governor Shan Yi, and Secretary-General of the Liaoning Provincial Government Feng Shouquan, along with 12 major representatives from Liaoning Province and other Chinese member governments.
During the reception, Governor Wang introduced recent developments and policy directions in Liaoning Province. He emphasized NEAR’s growing importance as a leading regional cooperation platform in Northeast Asia and proposed deepening cooperation in three key areas—economic and trade relations, industrial collaboration, and people-to-people exchanges—through the NEAR platform.
In response, Secretary-General Lim expressed his gratitude on behalf of NEAR member governments, stating, “Although Liaoning Province joined NEAR just one year ago, it has already taken on the role of Chair Government and successfully hosted the 14th Senior Officials Committee. This General Assembly has also been excellently organized and will be remembered as one of the most outstanding in NEAR’s history.”
He further noted that under Liaoning’s leadership, NEAR welcomed seven new members—three full members, one special member, two associate members, and one observer—bringing the total to 91 regional governments from nine countries. He highlighted the active operation of NEAR’s platforms such as the General Assembly and subcommittees, as well as increased high-level participation and intergovernmental exchanges.
Following this, Alexey Tsydenov, Head of the Republic of Buryatia and incoming NEAR Chair, expressed his honor at assuming the chairmanship and briefly introduced the Republic. He pledged to contribute to NEAR’s development and regional prosperity through practical cooperation projects among local governments.
Munkhchuluun Samdanlyan, Governor of Dundgovi Aimag, Mongolia, emphasized the growing importance of multilateral cooperation frameworks, such as NEAR. for sustainable development in Northeast Asia. He proposed expanding joint projects in climate, education, and youth sectors.
Finally, Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat(TCS) Secretary-General Lee Hee-seop praised NEAR as one of the most active local government cooperation platforms in the region and expressed his commitment to strengthening multilateral regional ties through future partnerships between TCS and NEAR.
Following the official reception, Governor Wang hosted a welcome dinner for around 100 General Assembly participants, creating a meaningful occasion to foster camaraderie and promote future exchange and cooperation.