On May 22, the NEAR Secretariat (Secretary-General LIM Byung-jin) hosted “Ambassador for International Relations+1 Dialogue” under the theme of “Strategies to Promote Local Diplomacy through NEAR as a Multilateral Exchange Platform for Northeast Asia Regional Governments,” inviting 13 ambassadors for international relations and over 30 working-level officials from 16 Korean NEAR member regions.

The dialogue started with the NEAR promotional video, introduction to the NEAR Secretariat, and the greetings from the Secretary-General. Then, there followed a report on the progress of the major NEAR projects and the dialogue on the “Strategies to Promote Local Diplomacy through NEAR as a Multilateral Exchange Platform for the Regional Governments.” Mr. Lim expressed his gratitude to the participating ambassadors, saying “I would like to deliver my deepest appreciation to the interest and the support you have shown to NEAR for this year as well as last year. Your invaluable ideas and insights put forward during last year's dialogue have been the foundation of the various works of NEAR today, leading to more active participation of the Korean members and their higher-level of cooperation with NEAR.” He added, “Currently, NEAR is facing significant challenges stemming from the complex geopolitical landscape of Northeast Asia: barriers to practical exchange between NEAR members; lack of awareness of NEAR in Korean and Japanese member regions; and the budget shortage for the NEAR Secretariat operation,” calling for inspiring ideas and solutions in order to make NEAR an undoubtful platform that represents Northeast Asia. 

The ambassadors provided numerous possible solutions: the ways to boost participation of the Korean members via NEAR; the ways for the Korean members to share the operation budget for the NEAR Secretariat; and hosting the NEAR Member Workshop events in each of the Korean member region by taking turns. The ambassadors said that the dialogue provided a good opportunity for them to understand the role of NEAR in Northeast Asia and its recent activities.

In particular, Mr. Lim presented a plaque of appreciation to Mr. PARK Chul-min, the ambassador for international relations of Ulsan City, to acknowledge his outstanding contribution to expanding the horizon of cooperation between Northeast Asia regional governments, as shown by the achievements including the successful holding of the 14^th NEAR General Assembly in Ulsan last year and the signing of the Letter of Intent for Friendly Exchange between Ulsan and Henan Province. 

After attending the opening ceremony of the NEAR Members Workshop on May 23, the ambassadors for international relations also engaged in one-on-one discussions by the Deputy Governor for Administration of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Ulsan, the Republic of Buryatia, and Bulgan Province, as well as in the Member-to-Member Friendly Conversation between NEAR members.

As an upgraded version of the last year’s Ambassador for International Relations Dialogue that involved the ambassadors for international relations of the Korean cities and provinces for the first time ever, the “Ambassador for International Relations+1 Dialogue” this year is additionally participated by the working-level officials, serving as the means to materialize the discussed agenda at the Workshop event and to reflect them in formulating policies of local diplomacy.