On January 26 and 27, Secretary-General Kim Ok-chae and two others from the NEAR Secretariat participated in the opening ceremony for K-Blue Zone Forum held by Gyeongsang National University.

K-Blue Zone Forum has been formed to discuss agricultural and rural developments as well as regional developments in connection with tasks of the times: ESG, carbon neutrality and digital innovation, etc. according to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

The forum commenced with the opening address made by Lee Yang-gu, the president of K-Blue Zone Forum, followed by the welcoming address delivered by Kwon Soon-ki, the president of Gyeongsang National University, congratulatory address, keynote address and ended with the inaugural meeting.

Secretary-General Kim introduced NEAR in his congratulatory address and said, “I will cooperate in connecting the regional co-existence⋅mutual development model pursued by K-Blue Zone Forum with NEAR members which show interest.”