Consensus Toward a Northeast Asian Economic Community

The Northeast Asia Economic Forum (NEAEF) is a regional nongovernmental organization created in 1991 to sponsor and facilitate research, networking, and dialogue relevant to the economic and social development of Northeast Asia. The Forum is also committed to promoting understanding and relations among the peoples of Northeast Asia, North America, and Europe. NEAEF’s main objective is to conduct research and conference activities aimed at functional economic cooperation such as cross-border energy, transportation and logistics infrastructure development, and capital mobilization. The Forum holds annual conferences, workshops, and seminars for planning, facilitating, coordinating, and implementing international and interdisciplinary solutions to common policy problems. It is the only nongovernmental regional organization in which all the nations of Northeast Asia and the US are consistent and active participants. For the year 2016, NEAEF in collaboration with the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), carried out activities aimed at building a Northeast Asian economic community. NEAEF has established the basis of a strong network for functional cooperation, for example, regular discussions among stakeholders on financing cross border infrastructure development. For the year 2016, the goal was to take more concrete steps toward a Northeast Asian economic community including efforts to increase dialogue with North Korea, with a view to future functional cooperation. NEAEF has continued to maintain a cooperative networking approach and exchanges with North Korea regarding the Tumen River Area and North Korean special economic zones. This year's volume titled, Consensus Toward a Northeast Asian Economic Community presents the results of a project implemented in 2016 that includes the planning meeting discussions as well as the presentations and summaries of the 2016 NEAEF Annual Conference in Changchun, China.