1. During his visit to New York to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his counterparts from member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on September 26. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged a wide range of views on ways to step up bilateral cooperation as well as the situations in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula.

* The meeting took place among the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman; the acting Foreign Minister of Bahrain; and GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

2. In the meeting, Minister Yun raised the need to diversify the sectors of cooperation between the ROK and GCC member states -- the ROK’s largest energy sources and construction markets overseas -- to include education, environment, information and communications technology, finance, defense industry, new and renewable energy, nuclear power plants and culture. Furthermore, he highlighted the potential of cooperation on public healthcare. The GCC side, expressing consent, voiced hope for the entry into their markets by not only large construction companies as in the past but also small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the ROK.

◦ The GCC Ministers brought attention to the ongoing work to resume negotiations on an ROK-GCC FTA in accordance with the decision at the GCC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in March. Minister Yun responded by conveying hope to resume the negotiations, thereby mapping out ways to step up the bilateral economic cooperation.

3. With regard to the situation in the Middle East, the two sides agreed on the need for joint international responses to new, emerging threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the issue of foreign terrorist fighters. Minister Yun commended the leading role of the GCC in responding to such issues.

4. In terms of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Yun raised the possibility of North Korea seeking economic cooperation with GCC member states, asking the GCC to lead North Korea to make the right choice of abandoning its nuclear programs and focusing on improving the livelihoods of its people. The GCC side expressed consent as well as hope for a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

5. On the heels of the meeting, Minister Yun, together with the GCC Secretary-General, signed the ROK-GCC memorandum of understanding on the establishment of strategic dialogue, a channel for regular communication between the ROK and GCC, its largest economic cooperation partner in the Middle East. The mechanism is expected to serve as a platform for in-depth discussions on ways to promote cooperation between the ROK and GCC, including supporting Korean companies’ bids to expand their presence in the GCC member countries; and joint entry into markets of third countries with the GCC’s capital and the ROK’s technology combined. 


                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation