Finance ministry opens 19th training program for Asian officials

South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it has begun a five-day training program for senior finance and central bank officials from 11 Asian countries, an annual exchange it has run since 2007 to build the foundations of regional economic and financial cooperation.

The 19th edition brings together officials from six ASEAN members — Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines — along with Mongolia and four Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Over the five days, academics and experts from research and public institutions will lead sessions on Korea's experience of economic growth, its main economic and financial policies, and international financial cooperation cases including global and regional financial safety nets. Participants will also visit the Bank of Korea, the Korea Exchange, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank, and look at Korean financial infrastructure such as the digital budget and accounting system and the anti-money-laundering system.

The ministry said it expects the exchange between Korean institutions and senior Asian officials to help reinforce the basis for economic and financial cooperation across the region.

The participants hold senior posts at their countries' finance ministries and central banks. The program is run by the ministry's financial cooperation division under its international finance bureau.