1. Delegates to the “Republic of Korea-Mekong Senior Officials’ Meeting” of the ROK and five Mekong countries -- the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam -- met on the afternoon of July 16 in the form of a video conference, co-chaired by Mr. Park Jae-kyung, Director-General for ASEAN and Southeast Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Nguyen Van Thao, Assistant Minister and Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ROK and the five Mekong countries had an in-depth discussion on ways to work together to establish an ROK-Mekong partnership for people, prosperity, and peace, building upon the momentum of the first ROK-Mekong Summit held in Busan in November 2019.

o The ROK-Mekong consultative mechanism which began at the ministerial level in 2011 was elevated to the summit level with the 1st ROK-Mekong Summit in 2019. Japan and the People’s Republic of China are the only countries other than the ROK that have summit-level consultative mechanisms with the Mekong region. The ROK and Southeast Asian countries have been holding the ROK-Mekong Summit and the ROK-ASEAN Summit.

2. The five Mekong countries highly commended the ROK’s various support regarding COVID-19, and said that the ROK’s support has been a great help in their respective countries’ responses to COVID-19. They also suggested that the ROK and the five Mekong countries continue stepping up cooperation not only in health and disease control but also in the full range of political, economic, and social affairs in order to minimize the negative impact of COVID-19.

o In addition, the ROK and the five Mekong countries expressed concern over the water shortage and food security issues in the Mekong region resulting from environmental changes in the Mekong River, and agreed to further expand cooperation for the Mekong region’s sustainable development.

3. The six countries noted with appreciation that since the launch of the foreign ministerial consultative mechanism in 2011, the ROK-Mekong cooperation has achieved significant results, including the upgrading of the mechanism to the summit level last year, and reviewed the progress in implementing a range of tailored cooperation projects.

o The ROK and the Mekong countries have effectively carried out concrete cooperation projects, including through the Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund, and the Mekong-ROK Action Plan. In particular, the two sides are pursuing key cooperation projects that the leaders of the six countries agreed upon last year which reflect the strength of the ROK-Mekong cooperation, namely the Mekong-ROK Business Council, the Mekong-ROK Biodiversity Center, the Mekong-ROK Water Resources Joint Research Center, and the Korea-Mekong Future Peace Community Program.

4. In a bid to raise the people’s awareness of the importance of the ROK-Mekong cooperation and encourage the public’s active participation in the cooperation, the ROK side proposed holding a public contest for an emblem symbolizing the ROK-Mekong cooperation that the people of the six countries can all participate, as well as creating the “ROK-Mekong supporters” by selecting people of the six countries who can represent progress of people-to-people exchanges between the ROK and the Mekong region. The five Mekong countries agreed that the ROK’s proposals will benefit the ROK-Mekong Cooperation.

o Furthermore, the six countries agreed to continue cooperation to ensure that the Mekong-ROK Business Council, established last year jointly by the Korea International Trade Association and the chambers of commerce and industry of the five Mekong countries, successfully holds the 8th Mekong-ROK Business Forum in the second half of this year. The two sides also agreed to make efforts to hold various face-to-face meetings as soon as the COVID-19 situation stabilizes.

5. Considering the growing geopolitical and economic importance of the Mekong region and neighboring countries’ expansion of cooperation with Mekong countries, the ROK government will participate more actively in international cooperation regarding the Mekong region in various fields.
 

o In this context, the ROK government took part in the Friends of the Lower Mekong Senior Officials’ Meeting, held on July 2 at the initiative of the United States, and the public-private joint ASEAN forum on sub-regional development, hosted by Vietnam on July 14. The ROK government will actively hold bilateral and multilateral consultations not only with the five Mekong countries but also with other countries that take part in cooperation with the Mekong region.