1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 6^th Republic of Korea (ROK)-Australia Strategic Dialogue with Deputy Secretary for the Indo-Pacific Group of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Richard Maude of the Commonwealth of Australia in Seoul on the morning of October 16.

○ The two sides agreed that as leading middle-power countries in the Asia and Pacific region and also like-minded countries, the two countries have a potential for expanding cooperation in various areas. In addition, they discussed bilateral relations, the situation in the region, and ways to step up regional cooperation between the two countries.

2. The two sides noted with appreciation that bilateral cooperation is deepening in a range of fields, such as diplomacy and security, trade and investment, resources and energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, on the basis of continued exchanges between the leaders of the ROK and Australia, including the bilateral summits in 2018 and 2019.

○ Deputy Minister Yoon asked for the Australian government’s keen attention to ensure that the ROK enterprises with outstanding competitiveness participate in diverse defense capability acquisition and procurement projects being conducted by the Australian forces.

3. Furthermore, the two sides discussed ways to increase cooperation in the areas of national defense and defense industry; development cooperation; and critical minerals and hydrogen, and agreed to make efforts to draw tangible outcomes at the upcoming 4^th Foreign and Defense Ministers’ (2+2) Meeting between the ROK and Australia.

4. Discussing regional issues, the two sides exchanged in-depth views on diplomatic strategies of the two respective countries for responding to security and economic environment amid heightened uncertainty and instability in the region, and collaboration between the ROK’s New Southern Policy and Australia’s Indo-Pacific strategy.