1. On June 1, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha had a luncheon meeting (at Four Seasons Hotel) with Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Elhadj As Sy, who is on a visit to the Republic of Korea, and exchanged views on the ROK’s humanitarian assistance policy, and ways to increase cooperation between the ROK and the IFRC.

※ President of the Korean Red Cross Park Kyung-seo was present at the meeting.

2. Minister Kang took note that the IFRC, as an organization with a large network, has been carrying out humanitarian activities in a range of areas, including disaster management, responses to infectious diseases, and strengthening resilience.

o Secretary General As Sy said that humanitarian-development nexus is becoming even more critical amid protracted humanitarian crises around the world, including Yemen and Syria, and that in this regard, his organization hopes to step up cooperation with the ROK government not only in short-term crisis response, but also in longer-term development assistance.

3. Minister Kang and Secretary General As Sy expressed hope that substantive cooperation in disaster management between the ROK and the IFRC will further increase under the MOU concluded in 2012 among the Foreign Ministry, the IFRC, and the Korean Red Cross. Secretary General As Sy especially asked for the ROK government’s interest and support for the IFRC’s Asia Pacific Disaster Resilience Centre, which the Korean Red Cross hosted in the ROK.

※ The IFRC’s Asia Pacific Disaster Resilience Centre, which the Korean Red Cross hosted in Songdo, Incheon, in 2016, conducts research, and education and training programs for IFRC staff and the public, to build disaster management capacities, and provides technical support for the activities of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Asia-Pacific region.

4. Minister Kang explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the recent improvement in inter-Korean relations, and took note that the IFRC has made various contributions to resolve humanitarian issues in North Korea. Secretary General As Sy said that the IFRC has been conducting humanitarian activities in the areas of crisis management, nutrition, and drinking water hygiene.

* unofficial translation