1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), hosted the “10^th High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership” under the theme “Korea-Caribbean Comprehensive Partnership in the Post-COVID-19 era” in a hybrid online and offline format on November 11.

o Participants from the ROK side who attended the Forum in person are people from the public and private sectors, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, the Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies, and the Academy of Korean Studies.

o Participants from the Caribbean region include CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque, ACS Secretary-General Rodolfo Sabonge, Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Joy St John, and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) of Jamaica Peter Thompson who made presentations virtually. The Forum was also attended by high-level government officials of around 20 Caribbean countries, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which is holding the Chairmanship of CARICOM and the Presidency of the UN Security Council, as well as Barbados and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

2. In his welcoming remarks, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun noted with appreciation that the two sides have steadily expanded substantive cooperation in various areas including climate change, disaster response, and e-government through the High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership for the past ten years. He expressed hope that the two sides would develop their cooperative relations into a comprehensive partnership based on solidarity and cooperation in their joint response to COVID-19 this year.

o To that end, Vice Minister Choi suggested supporting the Caribbean region’s economic and social development through the “ROK-CARICOM cooperation fund”; seeking tailored cooperation projects using the “Korean New Deal”; and strengthening cooperation on the international stage including the United Nations.

3. At the Forum, participants from the two sides, through presentations and discussions, broadened their understanding of characteristics and limitations in the social and economic development of Caribbean countries which are small island nations. In addition, in an effort to establish a comprehensive partnership, they had in-depth discussion on concrete ways of cooperation in responding to the public health and food security crises that have become the Caribbean region’s biggest challenge since the outbreak of COVID-19.

o In Session 1 on public health (moderator: Ambassador for Global Health Security Lee Jong-koo), participants from the two sides reviewed the current status of cooperation between the ROK and the Caribbean region in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and agreed to actively pursue possible concrete cooperation projects with a focus on fostering epidemiological experts, improving experiment facilities, and strengthening COVID-19 diagnostic capacity in order to enhance the Caribbean region’s capacity in public health.

o In Session 2 on food security (moderator: Seoul National University Professor Kim Tae-kyoon), participants shared their awareness of the food security situation in the Caribbean region that is worsening due to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. They also had an intensive discussion on ways for agricultural technology cooperation including plant breeding with the ROK’s Rural Development Administration, as well as ways to develop the Caribbean region’s rural areas by reinforcing capacity for self-sufficiency.

4. Participants from the Caribbean region expressed special gratitude to the ROK government, mentioning that the government’s humanitarian assistance was of great help for the region’s COVID-19 response. They also suggested that the two sides work actively together on projects that meet the Caribbean region’s demands for development cooperation including digital transformation and renewable energy by making use of the ROK’s technological capabilities.

5. This High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership which marks the tenth meeting this year has served as a significant opportunity to share visions for cooperation between the ROK and the Caribbean region in the post-COVID-19 era, and to reach a common understanding on concrete ways to take post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation one step further.