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SEOGWIPO, South Korea, June 25, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

An annual international peace forum kicked off on the southernmost island of

Jeju on Thursday to discuss climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and paths to

sustainable peace.

The three-day Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity brings together more than

2,000 participants from about 50 organizations and institutions in 30 countries

in an online-offline hybrid format due to the pandemic situation, the Jeju

Peace Institute think tank hosting the forum said. Most of the key sessions

will be livestreamed via YouTube.

Under the theme of "Sustainable Peace, Inclusive Prosperity," dozens of

prominent figures and experts have been invited to give speeches and take part

in the sessions, including former French President Francois Hollande, former

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee.

Also participating in the forum will be former Australian Prime Minister Kevin

Rudd, former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and former Colombian

President and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner Manuel Santos.

On Thursday, the forum started off with a "youth" panel session involving Jeju

Gov. Won Hee-ryong and Banerjee, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT), speaking with a group of students about inequality and

inclusive prosperity.

On Friday, Ban and Hollande will lead a session to discuss cooperation and

leadership to tackle climate change under the pandemic era.

Moon Chung-in, a former adviser to President Moon Jae-in, will join a session

with former Ambassador to U.N. Kim Sook and ex-Foreign Minister Gong Ro-myung

to look back on the 1991 South Korea-Soviet Union summit and discuss its legacy

in light of peace and security..

A roundtable of current ambassadors of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Israel

and others will be held to discuss peace in the Middle East.

The forum will be followed by another session with foreign ambassadors,

including Ambassadors of Japan, France, India, Australia and Singapore.

As June 25 marks the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War,

there will be a visual presentation of interviews of war veterans recounting

their experience.

Since its launch in 2001, the forum has grown into a regional multilateral

dialogue platform for promoting sustainable peace and prosperity on the

peninsula and beyond.

SOURCE  Jeju Peace Institute

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=394718

   Caption: Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong speaks during the 16th Jeju forum on peace and

prosperity in the city of Seogwipo on South Korea's largest island of Jeju on

June 25, 2021, the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.