1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha had a telephone conversation with Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia Marise Payne on the afternoon of May 19 and exchanged views on ways for cooperation on COVID-19 response as well as pending issues between the Republic of Korea and Australia.

2. Ministers Kang and Payne shared the measures taken respectively by the ROK and Australia to curb the spread of COVID-19 as well as information on the current situation, and noted with appreciation that the two countries have been effectively responding to the infectious disease crisis.

3. The two Ministers recognized the need to prepare for the future occurrence of similar situations with lessons from COVID-19 and exchanged views on the need for support for vulnerable countries as well as the need for cooperation on disease control in the region.

4. With the year 2021, which marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the ROK-Australia diplomatic relations, coming up, the two Ministers agreed to seek various ways to step up cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels, including at MIKTA.