1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun had his first meeting with the ASEAN Committee in Seoul (ACS) since his inauguration on the afternoon of October 15, and exchanged views on cooperation between the Republic of Korea and ASEAN, updating the New Southern Policy, and preparations for this year’s ASEAN-related summits.
2. Vice Minister Choi said that with this year marking the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the New Southern Policy, the ROK will continue to deepen the New Southern Policy by coming up with measures to update the Policy, while considering changes in the policy environment such as the COVID-19 outbreak as well as ASEAN’s demand for cooperation, and seeking new cooperative measures in areas directly related to the people’s lives such as health. He asked for attention and support from the ASEAN ambassadors in this regard.
o The ASEAN ambassadors noted with appreciation that the ROK government is pursuing the New Southern Policy with a focus on diplomacy with ASEAN, and expressed their expectations that the two sides would continue to strengthen cooperation in the health sector and other areas becoming increasingly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including science and technology and digital economy where the ROK has strong points.
3. Vice Minister Choi took note that the ROK government is continuing to enhance cooperation with ASEAN even amid COVID-19 based on close ties, including agreeing to establish the fast track procedure with ASEAN and actively carrying out high-level exchanges.
o The participants expressed their appreciation to the ROK government for generously providing various types of support to help ASEAN respond to COVID-19, including supporting quarantine equipment, making a financial contribution to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund, and sharing experiences, and hoped to continue cooperation.
4. Vice Minister Choi expressed his expectation that the ASEAN-related summits next month would serve as an opportunity to deepen the ROK-ASEAN relations by concentrating the capacities for overcoming COVID-19 and achieving regional economic recovery.
5.
Vice Minister Choi and the participants agreed to continue efficient
communication so that they can accomplish mutually-beneficial results in
various areas, including political, economic, social and cultural affairs.