The inaugural gathering of parliamentary leaders from the member countries of MIKTA concluded on Friday, with representatives of South Korea and Mexico meeting on the sidelines of the talks.

The meeting between Seoul’s National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa and Mexican Senate President Miguel Barbosa Huerta came one day after the representatives from the five MIKTA countries vowed to support efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Lawmakers from Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia and the Turkish ambassador to Seoul also agreed to back the U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda, a paper to be adopted in September at the U.N. pledging support for education, health, and equality, among other issues.

“I propose to our MIKTA friends to strengthen our ties beyond our regional and cultural differences, so that MIKTA will become a leading voice on the global stage, promoting peace and prosperity,” Chung Ui-hwa said late Thursday.

“MIKTA will be key to preventing hegemony and extremism, and promoting balance in the world,” Chung added.

MIKTA is a consultative group formed in 2013 under Seoul’s leadership and is an acronym of the names of its five member countries ― Mexico, Indonesia, (South) Korea, Turkey and Australia.

“MIKTA is a group of leading middle nations. We can serve as the bridges between weaker and stronger nations, and serve as the checks and balances between them,” Chung said.

The five nations have aimed to form a unified front on global issues such as climate change and regional peace to strengthen their voices on the international stage.

South Korea’s Chung held one-on-one meetings Wednesday with his Indonesian counterpart Irman Gusman and Australian President of the Senate Stephen Parry.

South Korea seeks to increase its global clout through MIKTA, experts have said, by providing itself another platform to earn international support for its North Korea and foreign policies.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)