1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Gunn, together with Mr. Justin Hayhurst, Deputy Secretary of the Indo-Pacific Group at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth of Australia, held the 7th Republic of Korea-Commonwealth of Australia Strategic Dialogue on the afternoon of November 11 in a virtual format. The two sides exchanged views on matters of mutual interest, including response to COVID-19 and people-to-people exchanges; substantive cooperation in such areas as hydrogen energy, national defense, the defense industry and infrastructure; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region; and cooperation through regional consultative mechanisms, including MIKTA and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

2. Deputy Minister Kim voiced hope that, as the COVID-19 situation in the ROK has been maintained stably through the ROK government’s active quarantine measures, the two countries would continue consultations to facilitate bilateral exchanges between essential personnel, including business people.

° The Deputy Minister extended appreciation to the Australian government for its cooperation on the safe return of more than 10,000 out of about 170,000 Korean residents in Australia via temporary flights since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis.

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3. The two sides took note that the ROK and Australia have strong points in hydrogen utilization technology and production, respectively, and agreed to work together in the field of hydrogen energy, a future-generation energy source, and to seek connectivity between the ROK’s “Hydrogen Economy Roadmap” and Australia’s “National Hydrogen Strategy.”

° In particular, Deputy Minister Kim expressed hope that Korean companies, which are recognized for hydrogen technology, would be able to contribute to the development of Australia’s hydrogen energy industry.

4. Deputy Minister Kim noted with appreciation that Korean companies have been contributing to the expansion of infrastructure in Australia by taking part in such projects as the WestConnex motorway project. He went on to convey hope for increased presence of Korean companies in large-scale infrastructure construction projects currently underway in Australia.

5. Deputy Minister Kim took note that bilateral cooperation in the defense industry is about to take a big new step, as seen from the selection of a Korean company in September as a preferred supplier for Australia’s self-propelled howitzer project worth 500 million U.S. dollars. He suggested that the two countries communicate closely to facilitate more active participation of Korean companies with many years of experiences in large-scale defense industry projects of Australia.

° The two sides noted the close bilateral security cooperation that has continued since Australia’s participation in the Korean War, and agreed to resume cooperation on national defense, including exchanges between military authorities and joint exercises, as soon as the COVID-19 situation improves.

6. The two sides exchanged views on the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the region and agreed to enhance the role of MIKTA, a consultative mechanism among middle power countries from various regions and economic blocs, -- the Republic of Korea, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Republic of Indonesia, the United Mexican States and the Republic of Turkey -- and move forward discussions on such matters as disease prevention and control, the distribution of vaccines and economy recovery, amid the growing uncertainty of the global situation and the strengthening protectionism.

7. Deputy Minister Kim asked for active participation of the Australian government in the Peacekeeping Ministerial, which the ROK government is preparing to hold in Seoul in April 2021 to promote the international community’s discussions on effective peacekeeping operations (PKO) in international conflict zones.

° The two sides, which share understandings on regional security and economic issues, agreed to collaborate closely in order to produce tangible outcomes for the people at the EAS on November 14.

8. The ROK-Australia Strategic Dialogue is seen to have served as an opportunity to review the overall relations between the two major like-minded middle powers in the region ahead of their 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2021 amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation.