1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Sei-young had the 3^rd multilateral teleconference with his counterparts of countries in the region for about 40 minutes from 10:30 am, April 3, Korea Standard Time.

° The teleconference among the vice foreign ministers of 7 countries in the region -- the Republic of Korea, the United States, Japan, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the Republic of India -- has taken place on a weekly basis following the first meeting on March 20.

2. The vice foreign ministers shared the progress in the COVID-19 response in their respective countries and discussed ways to cooperate on international assistance to vulnerable countries, maintaining global supply chains and repatriation of nationals, among others, amid the global spread of COVID-19.

3. Vice Minister Cho mentioned that the ROK government has been providing medical items including testing kits to vulnerable countries to the extent that it does not affect the supply and demand at home; explained that more than 4,000 Korean nationals’ return home from around the world has been facilitated by close cooperation with a number of countries; and stressed that the countries should continue close cooperation regarding humanitarian assistance and consular affairs.

° In addition, Vice Minister Cho explained that, in response to the growing inflow of COVID-19 from abroad, the ROK government has subjected all inbound travelers to a 14-day mandatory quarantine and has made separate entry procedures available for essential economic exchanges. He went on to voice hope that the countries will jointly set standards for maintaining essential travel even amid the spread of COVID-19.

4. The vice ministers agreed to continue close communication and collaboration through regular teleconferences in order to effectively respond to COVID-19.