1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha received a phone call from Mr. Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at 18:00, February 28, 2020, and discussed pending issues between the Republic of Korea and the UK, including collaboration in responding to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), cooperation in the areas of climate and environment, and post-Brexit bilateral cooperation.

° Secretary Raab once again extended deep apologies for not having been able to hold the ROK-UK foreign ministerial meeting as scheduled for February 26 due to sudden personal reasons.

2. Amid high concern over the spread of COVID-19 infections across the world, the two sides agreed to work closely together in responding to COVID-19.

° Minister Kang explained that the ROK government has been taking strong measures in response to COVID-19 on the basis of its high-level testing capacity and its will to proactively curb the spread of the virus, and asked the UK side to hold prior consultations when taking measures against Koreans as a response to COVID-19.

° Secretary Raab, commending the ROK’s efficient and transparent response, mentioned that the UK will continue close communication and collaboration for effective response to COVID-19.

3. In addition, the two sides, sharing the understanding that the year 2020 is a significant time for responding to climate change, agreed to work closely together on various occasions of bilateral and multilateral levels. 

° Secretary Raab, commending the ROK’s efforts in responding to climate change, asked for the ROK’s active participation in and cooperation at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in the UK in November 2020.

° Minister Kang asked the UK, a leading country in climate change, to actively participate in and cooperate at the 2nd Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit, which will take place in Seoul in June, in order for the achievements of the event to lead to those of the UK-hosted COP26. 

4. Minister Kang voiced hope that even after Brexit, the ROK and the UK would work closely together in order to maintain the continuity of bilateral cooperation in economy and trade.

° Secretary Raab, noting that cooperation with the ROK has become more important after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, mentioned that the UK will pay more attention to prevent vacuum in trade cooperation between the two countries.