1. The 6^th Korea-Pacific Islands Senior Officials’ Meeting took place in Busan on October 15, hosted by the Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by delegates from 13 Pacific Island countries (PICs).

2. During the meeting, the officials discussed ways to enhance people-to-people and economic connectivity as well as ways to work together in substantive areas, such as climate change, maritime affairs and fisheries, and development cooperation, and exchanged views on regional situations. They agreed to make substantial preparations for a successful 4^th Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, set to take place in 2020.

3. [Connectivity] The officials pointed out that, despite their great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in such sectors as trade and tourism, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and PICs have not sufficiently fulfilled the potential. They agreed to maximize the potential of cooperation between the ROK and the PICs by making efforts to enhance people-to-people and economic interaction between the ROK and the PICs.

° In particular, the participants expressed regret over the fact that, despite the importance of direct flights between the two regions in promoting people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation such as on tourism, Korean Air had suspended its direct flights between Incheon and Nadi, the Republic of Fiji, in October; and raised the need to resume the flight service. They also expressed hope for continued discussions on concluding air services agreements between the ROK and PICs.

° They agreed on the necessity of establishing a platform to provide integrated support on efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges as well as trade and investment, including building presence of small- and medium-sized enterprises in PICs, and agreed to continue to discuss this matter.

4. [Climate change and resilience] The officials commended the role of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in responding to climate change in PICs. They stressed that, as responding to climate change is a top-priority policy task for the South Pacific region, which is vulnerable to climate change, it is necessary to continue to further strengthen capacities of these countries and to increase their access to the Green Climate Fund.

5. [Maritime and fisheries cooperation] The PICs representatives took note of the various human capacity-strengthening programs in the maritime and fisheries fields conducted by the ROK for PICs. Expressing expectations regarding the ROK’s establishment of the World Fisheries University, they voiced hope that the ROK would continue to help the PICs build capacity for sustainable management of marine resources through scientific research and human resource training in maritime and fisheries fields.

6. [Development cooperation] The participating PICs extended appreciation to the ROK for its contribution to efforts to achieve sustainable development goals in the Pacific region and raised the need to render assistance to PICs tailored to their various development needs and to increase its official development assistance (ODA). The ROK and the PICs agreed to continue discussions on laying the institutional groundwork, such as the conclusion of framework arrangements on grant aid.

° The PICs, underscoring the need for cooperation among regional organizations of the Pacific as well as among educational institutions, such as universities, asked the ROK to consider dispatching technical advisors in the field of scientific research.

7. The PICs commended the ROK government’s efforts to achieve complete denuclearization and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula and voiced hope that dialogue between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic Korea would proceed smoothly and produce meaningful outcome. The delegate from Tuvalu, the chair country of the 50^th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Summit held in August 2019, briefed the other participants on the outcomes of the Summit and extended appreciation to the ROK for its active cooperation with PICs as a PIF Dialogue Partner.

8. With regard to various regional initiatives pursued by major countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the ROK side explained that the ROK government will seek harmonious cooperation with these regional initiatives, while upholding such values as diversity, openness and the rule of law, and thereby contribute to achieving peace and stability in the Pacific region.

9. The participants agreed to continue consultations on the venue selection and deliverables of the Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 2020 to make the Meeting a successful one.

° They also shared the progress and outcomes of the projects conducted with the ROK-PIF Cooperation Fund and agreed to review ways to improve the Fund’s operation method to ensure its transparent and effective operation.

10. During their visit to the ROK on October 14-17, senior officials from PICs had an opportunity to get a glimpse of Busan and its culture by visiting Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and touring the ROK’s shipbuilding industry facilities, Haedongyonggungsa (a seaside temple), and seaside shops.