They will also likely seek to form a consultative body to resolve environmental issues so that they can reduce the harmful effects caused by fine dust and air pollution. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Fifteen major cities and provinces from four Northeast Asian countries will gather in Seoul on Thursday to discuss ways to tackle environmental pollution, the Seoul city government said Tuesday.
At the two-day international forum to be held at city hall, the participating cities and provinces will announce the “Seoul Declaration” at the end of the gathering containing the participants’ desire to expand cooperation in combating pollution.
Recently, the governments of South Korea, China and Japan agreed to make joint efforts to resolve the issue on fine dust in Northeast Asia, a growing environmental problem facing the region.
The participating cities and provinces are South Korea’s Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province; China’s Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Jilin, Guiyang, Shenzhen and Hong Kong; and Japan’s Tokyo and Kitakyushu.
Mongolia’s capital city will also be represented at the discussions.
Moreover, they will state that environmental contamination is a common problem facing all countries and cities.
They will also likely seek to form a consultative body to resolve environmental issues so that they can reduce the harmful effects caused by fine dust and air pollution.
According to Seoul city authorities, a representative from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will deliver a keynote address on improvements in air quality by participating countries and will also announce the exemplary cases of their environmental improvement efforts.
Also an open talk session will take place between environmental experts and civic group representatives on ways to increase environmental cooperation.
Meanwhile, an export consultation and technology exhibition on the environment will be held, with 46 Korean green industries and some 20 Chinese buyers attending the event.
A Seoul city official said the South Korean capital and China’s Tianjin will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on environmental cooperation in a follow-up to last year’s Seoul-Beijing agreement on reducing fine dust emissions and contaminated materials released from restaurants.
(Yonhap)
