The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) hosted the inaugural Korea-US-Japan Business Dialogue in Washington, DC, where business communities from Korea, the United States, and Japan came together to establish a formal trilateral dialogue. This private consultation, organized in collaboration with the US Chamber of Commerce and Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), marks a significant cooperative effort among the three countries' industries.
During the meeting, coinciding with the inaugural Korea-US-Japan Industry Ministers' Meeting in Washington on the same day, the three leading economic organizations from Korea, the United States, and Japan jointly announced the commencement of a private-sector business dialogue. They also agreed to convene regular future meetings. Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun enthusiastically welcomed the establishment of the trilateral business dialogue.
“Just before today’s meeting, I held the first trilateral industrial ministerial meeting with Minister Saito and Secretary Raimondo and confirmed our willingness to cooperate on developing trilateral industrial cooperation and joint responses to global risks.”
The meeting saw participation from eight Korean companies, such as Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor Company, Hanwha, Posco, Hyosung, and LS; ten US companies, including Intel, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, and Amazon; and eight Japanese firms, including Toyota, Sony, Hitachi, and Sumitomo. At the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed to enhance cooperation between the FKI, the US Chamber, and Keidanren.
The memorandum of understanding includes a commitment to advance trilateral cooperation in economic security and technology, building upon the agreement reached during the trilateral summit of the three countries' leaders at Camp David in August of last year. As part of this commitment, the three nations have pledged to convene the Korea-US-Japan Business Dialogue at least once annually. Additionally, it was agreed that these business discussions would coincide with meetings involving the heads of state or government from all three countries.
“I believe that as the trilateral cooperation in the industrial and economic sectors discussed at the trilateral summit has now been institutionalized in writing, this will lead to more stable economic cooperation among the three countries”, FKI Vice Chairman Kim Chang-beom said. “To implement the MOU, we will continue to work with the FKI and Keidanren to hold biannual working group meetings and annual general meetings”, said Charles Freeman, Senior Vice President of the US Chamber.
“This will allow the business community to have a say in the policy-making process of the three governments”, Said Ichiro Hara, Managing Director of Keidanren. “The importance of cooperation among the three countries has increased amidst the unstable global environment, and I expect our cooperation to be further strengthened through the newly established tripartite framework”.