The Korea Forest Service (KFS) announced that it held a seminar promoting corporate forest investment and cooperation in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) at Fraser Place Central Seoul today.

This seminar served as a side-event of the first Korea-Pacific Islands Summit, which convened yesterday and concluded today. The KFS　seminar was organized to generate opportunities for Korean enterprises to engage in forest cooperation projects in pursuit of ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) management goals and to invest in PIC forests.

Korean and PIC　forest officials attended the seminar along with representatives from the private sector, related organizations, and academia. The Minister of Forestry and Research of the Solomon Islands ? among the most forest-rich of the 14 PICs ? delivered the keynote address, describing the current status of the Solomon Islands’ forests, and sharing case studies on investment and cooperation in the Solomon Islands.

During the second session of the seminar, presentations focused on exploring opportunities for overseas forest cooperation projects between the ROK and the PICs, including overseas forest investment by private firms, forest ODA projects, and forest science and technology. These presentations may capture the attention of Korean firms seeking to invest in the PICs’ forest sectors.

In addition, the Minister of the KFS expressed a willingness to pursue deeper cooperation with the PICs. “I will increasingly expand forest cooperation projects with the Pacific Island Countries,” he said. “These efforts will include establishing networks of Korean enterprises in the PICs, expanding forest-related exchanges with the PICs, laying the foundation for Korean firms’ investment and cooperation, and pushing forward follow-up projects that expand upon the Summit.”