1. The Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan held “the 2nd ROK-U.S.-Japan Women’s Empowerment Trilateral Conference: Summit on Women’s Leadership in STEM” in a virtual format on October 20-23, Korea Standard Time.

° The heads of the government delegations from the ROK, the U.S. and Japan were Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Seong-ho, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues of the Department of State Kelley Currie, and Ambassador in charge of Women’s Issues Atsuko Nishimura, respectively.

2. In his keynote speech, Deputy Minister Lee explained the importance of women’s economic empowerment in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields as well as the ROK government’s policy efforts to mitigate the recent increase in the burden of childcare due to COVID-19 and as well as the employment instability.

3. In the Joint Statement drawn up as a result of the Conference, the ROK, the U.S. and Japan particularly reiterated their commitment to continuously hosting the Trilateral Conference and cooperating on regional and global issues.

4. The Conference is seen to have served as an opportunity for leaders from the civil societies and governments of the ROK, the U.S. and Japan to review the progress and challenges in women’s empowerment in the STEM fields and to reaffirm their commitment to stepping up trilateral cooperation in the area.