South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT convened the seventh session of the Korea-ASEAN Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation in Vientiane, Laos, on 24–25 June, E2NEWS reports. Senior officials from science and technology ministries of all eleven ASEAN member states attended alongside the ASEAN Secretariat and a twelve-member South Korean delegation drawn from research and policy bodies, including the Science and Technology Policy Institute, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, and the.
Two priorities anchored the committee session: advancing Korea-ASEAN artificial intelligence cooperation and deploying science and technology to support ASEAN’s carbon-neutrality and clean-air ambitions. The AI strand forms a central pillar of the Korea-ASEAN Digital Innovation Flagship, a programme backed by a USD 30 million Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund allocation. The meeting also reviewed progress on data infrastructure development, a Korea-ASEAN AI development and start-up competition, and plans to establish a very long baseline interferometry observation network across Southeast Asia.
A workshop on 25 June centred on three themes — science and technology innovation capacity building, joint research, and research infrastructure — aligned with ASEAN’s new Science and Technology Action Plan and the Korea-ASEAN Implementation Plan.First Vice Minister Koo Hyeok-chae of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated that South Korea intends to move beyond simple exchange and build a practical partnership that applies scientific and technological innovation to ASEAN’s shared challenges.
Carbon Market Context
- The blue carbon pathway is particularly relevant to ASEAN’s extensive coastal geographies. Available market figures show approximately 4.8 million tCO2e in blue carbon credits issued globally, with around 3.5 million tCO2e already retired — a retirement-to-issuance ratio suggesting consistent buyer demand in a segment well matched to the region.
- Improved forest management, relevant to several heavily forested ASEAN economies, accounts for roughly 22.6 million tCO2e in issued credits globally, with approximately 16.9 million tCO2e retired — indicating an established nature-based supply base that science and technology cooperation could help deepen and verify.
Source
- 한-아세안 과기혁신 공동위원회 개최…AI·탄소중립 협력 논의이투뉴스 (E2NEWS), 2026-06-23