1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), concluded a subsidiary arrangement using the Republic of Korea-PIF Cooperation Fund -- “the ROK-Pacific COVID-19 Impact Recovery Plan (a total of 300,000 U.S. dollars in 2020)” -- on September 29, in support of Pacific island countries (PICs) in mitigating impact of COVID-19 in the sectors of trade and tourism.

° The signing ceremony was held in Suva, the Republic of Fiji, in the presence of Ambassador to Fiji Cho Shinhee and Deputy Secretary General of the PIF Secretariat Filimon Manoni. The PIF side extended deep appreciation to the ROK government for its support on PICs’ tourism and trade, which have been hit hard by COVID-19.

2. The ROK government’s support to PICs will consist of providing tailored consulting services for their small business owners, setting up an ROK-PICs trade portal and e-commerce platform, helping establish sustainable strategies for post-COVID-19 tourism, and supporting online marketing activities of local travel agencies.

° With PICs’ trade and tourism sectors, their main sources of income, struck hard by blockade policies of other countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ROK government’s contribution is expected to help people working in those sectors of PICs adjust to the shifted market environment.

3. Amid active global efforts to respond to social and economic issues triggered by COVID-19, the ROK government’s assistance is expected to complement PICs’ vulnerable social safety nets, to step up substantive cooperation with those countries, and thereby to help broaden the horizon of the ROK’s diplomacy to the Pacific region.