7th Director-General Level Trilateral Meeting Held in China from September 11 to 12


The Korea Forest Service (KFS), under the leadership of Minister LIM Sang-seop, participated in the 7th Director-General Level Trilateral Meeting between the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China, held in Hangzhou, China, from September 11 to 12. During the meeting, delegates from the three nations shared updates on their respective forestry policies and discussed avenues for future cooperation.

This meeting traces its origins to the “Joint Statement of Cooperation on Sustainable Forest Management, Combating Desertification, and Wildlife Conservation,” issued at the ROK-China-Japan Trilateral Summit in 2012. Since 2014, the gathering has served as a key platform for exchanging forestry information among the three countries.

Last year’s 6th meeting took place in Japan in November, with Director-General-level delegations and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) in attendance.

This year's meeting covered topics such as forest status, disaster response, sustainable management, and timber industry development. Notably, the participants explored potential collaborations in areas like climate change response and efforts to combat desertification.

In addition, the delegates visited Anji County, China, to observe sustainable forest management practices and timber industry advancements.

Dr. NAM Song Hee, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau at KFS and head of the Korean delegation, remarked, "As the global need for forestry cooperation grows in response to climate change, I am optimistic that our trilateral collaboration, particularly in forest restoration and combating desertification, will contribute to making our forests more resilient and sustainable in the future."