CIDCA chairman addresses opening ceremony of Ban Ki-moon Foundation’s Beijing office

Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended and addressed the opening ceremony of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation's Beijing Representative Office on Sept 20.

Luo extended his congratulations on the establishment of the office, and spoke highly of Ban Ki-moon's contributions in promoting the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), maintaining global and regional peace, development and security, and advancing the development of China-South Korea relations. He paid special tribute to the former UN secretary-general for his support for the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI) and his attendance and speeches at both high-level conferences of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development hosted by the CIDCA.

Luo pointed out that the Ban Ki-moon Foundation focuses on achieving the UN SDGs by carrying out international development cooperation in areas such as climate change response, enhancing the wellbeing of youth and women, and poverty reduction, which are in sync with the GDI. The establishment of the Beijing office also echoes the UN Summit of the Future, which will take place next week, he said. The CIDCA is ready to take the establishment of the Beijing office as an opportunity to explore further cooperation with the foundation and other partners, to coordinate the advancement of the UN SDGs and the GDI, he added.

In his speech, Ban thanked China for all the support rendered by various sectors in the establishment of the foundation's Beijing office. He said that, since the establishment of the foundation in 2019, it has achieved remarkable outcomes in promoting the achievements and concepts of the UN SDGs and facilitating cultural exchanges between Eastern and Western countries. The establishment of the Beijing office is another milestone for the foundation, and will further facilitate pragmatic cooperation between the foundation and the Chinese side in accelerating the implementation of the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges and friendship between South Korea and China, he said. The foundation and himself are ready to join hands with various sectors in China to strive for a future for humanity without conflict or poverty, he added.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sent a congratulatory message to the establishment of the foundation's Beijing office. Yoo Soon-taek, the wife of Ban, and Vice-Chairman of the CIDCA Zhao Fengtao also attended the event.