EVENTS

Abstract

In the post-Korean war phase, Seoul seemed to be more concerned about the bigger regional players, who determined her course of development. Korea failed to broaden the horizon of its diplomatic engagement beyond conventional known boundaries or players. Despite sharing close diplomatic ties with Asian countries, the central theme of ties was economic cooperation. It lagged in establishing political and strategic ties in a substantial sense. However, this lag of diplomatic endeavor has been filled up by South Korea’s New Asia Initiative Policy.

The New Asia Initiative Policy was adopted in 2009. Under this policy, South Korea aimed to improve its relations with all Asian countries and promote common interests on the global stage. The new doctrine projected Seoul's resolve to expand the scope of its diplomacy beyond big players and upgrade relations with other regional partners in diverse areas. The initiative reflected President Lee's resolve to promote Asia's interests in the world. The administration planned to increase economic contributions to developing countries in Asia and promote cultural exchanges based on the growing popularity of Korean dramas and pop songs in Asia. This Initiative focuses on the following regions －Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia. In the presentation, the speaker will cover South Korea's relations with the Middle East within the framework of the New Asia Initiative Policy.

About the Speaker

Angana Guha Roy is Research Associate at the Delhi Policy Group.  She is pursuing her Ph.D at the Department of East Asian,  University of Delhi . She has done her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Presidency College. After completing Master of Arts in International Relations from Jadavpur University, she worked as an Assistant Professor in colleges affiliated to University of Calcutta and Kalyani University in West Bengal. She did her M.Phil in foreign policy with a scholarship from Ministry of External Affairs, India.  She has published research papers and articles and has presented papers in various national and international conferences in India and abroad.