The United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-supported Tumen River Area Development Project has made remarkable achievement over the past ten years, thanks to enormous effort made by the five member countries: China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Mongolia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Russia.

Northeast Asian countries participating in the program have reduced their trade barriers in the area and increased their opportunities for economic cooperation, said Kim Hak Su, UN deputy secretary-general at an ongoing seminar on Northeast Asian cooperation and Tumen River area joint development.

The UNDP announced here Friday that relevant Northeast Asian countries had agreed to extend their agreement on the joint development of the Tumen River area by another ten years.

In 1995, China, Russia, Mongolia, the DPRK and ROK signed an agreement in New York on the establishment of a consultative committee concerning the Tumen River program, with an expire period of ten years.

Since then, the UNDP and other donors have invested about 20 million US dollars in the Tumen River area, making breakthrough progress in the local infrastructure construction, energy cooperation, transnational transport, international tourism and investment cooperation.

Russia and the DPRK made full use of their border ports and the material and technological infrastructure in northeast China, to build connections with the world market, prompted by economic cooperation between China, Russia, Mongolia and the DPRK.

"China itself has invested 5 billion yuan (6 million US dollars) in Hunchun along the Tumen valley and greatly improved the local transport and energy infrastructure," said Vice Governor Li Jinbin of Jilin Province.

Hunchun is a city located in the Tumen River area and very close to Russia and the DPRK. In the past ten years, four highways, three international railways and an airport were constructed in Hunchun, making it a transport center in the Tumen River area.

The Chinese government has defined detailed missions to revitalize the old industrial base in northeast China and enhance cooperation in Northeast Asia, which provides good opportunities and environment for the further development of Tumen River area cooperation, Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The five Northeast Asian countries have agreed to expand their regional cooperation to the Greater Tumen Region, which covers Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in China, the Rason Economic and Trade Zone in the DPRK, and Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories and Sakhalin of Russia.

The Greater Tumen Region cooperation will focus on transport, energy, investment, trade and tourism, according to UNDP sources. The five countries have agreed to enhance cooperation in this regard and try to attract more private companies to participate.

The international cooperation in the Greater Tumen Region will set a good example for future economic integration in Northeast Asia, said Wei.

The acceleration of Tumen Region development and Northeast Asian economic cooperation will surely benefit the economy of relevant countries, ease the political tension in Northeast Asia and make contributions to peace and development in Asia and the world at large, he said.

The 505.4-km Tumen River originates from the eastern side of Changbai Mountain's main ridge. China and the DPRK share a 490.4-km section as the border river on the upper reaches, and Russia and the DPRK share a 15-km section on the lower reaches.

Source: Xinhua