Eco-tone

(from left: Mr. Moon, Byung-Moo, CEO of Dysol-Timo; Mr. Deputy Ambassador Thierry hoppe, Royal Danish Embassy in Seoul; Mr. Ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam, Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Korea; Mr. Lee, Wook-heon, European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Mr. Song, Jong-ho, President of the Small and Medium Business Corporation; Mr. Kim, Dong-sun, Administrator of the Small and Medium Business Administration; Mr. Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski, Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea; Mr. Woo, Ki-jong, Secretary-General of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth; Mr. Lee, Tae-young, Korea Energy Management Corporation)

The ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center (ASEIC) held its official launch ceremony on 15 June 2011, co-hosted by the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) and the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC) of the Korean government. High-level officials from government including administrator of SMBA, president of SBC, secretary-general of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth and the heads of delegations from the ASEM member countries stationed in Korea such as the European Commission, Pakistan, Denmark, etc. attended the event to support ASEIC’s inauguration.

As ASEIC was created at the eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Brussels, Mr. Dong-sun Kim, administrator of SMBA, put an emphasis on active participation of foreign ambassadors and members of embassies in Korea to develop the center as international platform where green growth business opportunities are created and fruitful ideas are shared. With this ceremony as a momentum, ASEIC is getting into its stride. This year, ASEIC is planning to implement four major pilot projects as following: providing eco-innovation consulting service for small and medium enterprises, operating a web portal which contains environmental regulations and best practices around the globe, conducting global survey on the issue of eco-innovation and SMEs, and sharing best practices among ASEM member countries through international conferences and seminars. The official launch of the ASEIC was covered several national and international media outlets.

Following the agreement, leaders from ASEM member countries officially endorsed the establishment of ASEIC at the 8th ASEM Summit, which was held at Brussels, Belgium.

The Korea Times: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/06/123_89036.html