1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha had a telephone conversation with her counterparts from countries affected by COVID-19 for about 70 minutes starting at 11:10 p.m., March 15 (Korea Standard Time), and discussed ways for international cooperation to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

o Participants in the telephone conversation were the foreign ministers of six countries, including the Republic of Korea, Canada, which proposed it, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Italian Republic, and the Commonwealth of Australia.

2. The foreign ministers recognized the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak spreading across the world, and shared their experiences and plans regarding their countries’ disease control measures, travel restrictions and border measures, fiscal, industry, and labor support measures, social measures, etc.

3. Minister Kang said that the number of new cases of infection in the ROK is declining and the overall situation is controllable, but the ROK, not complacent, is continuing its proactive response. She explained that the ROK is also actively dealing with risk factors, including community transmission and the inflow of the virus from abroad due to the global spread of COVID-19.

o In particular, Minister Kang introduced the ROK’s outstanding quarantine models, including preemptive epidemiological investigation on high-risk groups based on strong diagnostic testing capabilities; innovative quarantine measures such as drive-thru testing stations; transparent information sharing; and quarantine measures based on voluntary participation.

o In addition, Minister Kang suggested that countries refrain from imposing excessive entry restrictions and make efforts to maintain open societies and international order so that the spread of the infectious disease does not lead to more barriers between countries and the spread of fear and hatred. Minister Kang went on to stress the ROK’s commitment to contributing to overcoming the global outbreak of COVID-19.

4. The foreign ministers who took part in the telephone conversation agreed to continue to communicate and cooperate closely with each other and take lead in coordinated efforts at multilateral, regional and bilateral levels, as international collaboration has become essential with the global spread of COVID-19.

5. In regard to this, Minister Kang said that to establish a system for close international collaboration in response to COVID-19, the President of the ROK proposed a special video summit among the G20 countries, and asked for active cooperation from her counterparts.