1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha had a telephone conversation with Mr. Dominic Rennie Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on the afternoon of April 6 at the latter’s request and exchanged views on the spread of COVID-19 and ways to respond to it.

° Minister Kang extended consolation over the emergence of a number of confirmed cases and deaths in the UK, voiced her wish for a speedy recovery of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been hospitalized with COVID-19, and took note of the fact that, the day before, April 5, Her Majesty The Queen of the UK had delivered a message of encouragement to the people of UK, who are facing a difficult time.

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° Secretary Raab extended appreciation to Minister Kang for her consolation, and, saying that the UK is seeking ways to drastically increase its COVID-19 testing capacity, he asked for the ROK’s attention to and cooperation for an expanded purchase of Korean-made diagnostic testing kits.

2. Minister Kang stressed that the two countries, while making all-out efforts to control COVID-19, need to maintain direct flights and continue relevant cooperation in order to ensure smooth progress of essential people-to-people exchanges.

° Minister Raab, noting with appreciation that, recently, direct flights between Incheon and London had been greatly helpful in the repatriation of UK nationals in Southeast Asia, shared Minister Kang’s view on the need to maintain direct flights between the two countries.

3. The Minister and the Secretary voiced hope that the two countries will promptly overcome the COVID-19 situation and deepen cooperation in the area of environment, including through the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.