1. Mr. Chung Keeyong, Director-General for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Scientific Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment of Japan, from February 18-21 and met with Mr. Tsukada Tamaki, Ambassador for Global Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Mr. Ono Hiroshi, Director-General of the Water, Air and Environment Bureau respectively.

2. During the visit, Mr. Chung explained the importance of the Second Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit, which will be held in Seoul on June 29 and 30 this year, and delivered invitations to Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister for Environment of Japan, Koizumi Shinjiro.

3. The two sides shared views on the current issues of the key agenda items and the way forward of the climate change negotiations including updating NDC and LEDS (Long-term low Emissions Development Strategies) of each side. They agreed to pursue cooperation needed to complete the detailed guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement at the 26^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They also discussed how to strengthen regional environmental cooperation mechanisms on air and marine pollution, including the North-East Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) and the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP).

4. Director-General Chung also visited the Renewable Energy Institution (REI) and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and discussed the possible cooperative activities between relevant institutions of Korea and those two organizations on the air quality issues, climate change response, renewable energy projects etc. as well as at the international level.    /END/