1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Pham Binh Minh, co-chaired the 10th Mekong-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on the afternoon of September 28 in a virtual format.

° At the Meeting held in the presence of the Foreign Ministers of the ROK and Viet Nam as well as the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the Kingdom of Thailand, the participants reviewed the achievements of the first Mekong-ROK Summit held in November 2019 as well as the future direction of Mekong-ROK cooperation, and discussed comprehensively and in depth key regional and global issues.

2. In her opening remarks, Minister Kang noted with appreciation that the ROK and the Mekong countries had agreed on the joint vision of “Establishing Partnership for People, Prosperity and Peace” by adopting the “Mekong-Han River Declaration” at the 1st Mekong-ROK Summit in 2019. She went on to reaffirm the ROK government’s strong commitment to further bolstering Mekong-ROK cooperation in a bid to realize this vision.

° The Minister mentioned that, in recognition of the importance of Mekong-ROK partnership, the ROK government increased its contribution to the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund (MKCF) to 3 million dollars this year and is committed to continually increasing its annual contribution to the MKCF.

3. The Ministers of the five Mekong countries commended highly in one voice the ROK government’s active efforts to step up Mekong-ROK cooperation; shared the view that, considering geographical and cultural similarities and mutual economic complementarity between the ROK and the Mekong region, there is a great potential to further expand cooperation; and suggested that they work actively together to strengthen Mekong-ROK cooperation.

4. Minister Kang noted that, despite the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, Mekong-ROK cooperation has continued; mentioned that there is a need to further reinforce Mekong-ROK cooperation in the areas of health including cooperation regarding COVID-19 vaccines, economic recovery and environment, in order to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of Mekong-ROK cooperation in the rapidly changing global environment; and proposed a direction for future cooperation.

° [Health] The Minister took note that the ROK and the five Mekong countries have pursued close cooperation regarding COVID-19, including providing necessary equipments for disease control and repatriation of their nationals abroad, and suggested that they continue enhancing their solidarity and cooperation on COVID-19.

- In particular, Minister Kang stressed that international cooperation is important in developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics and ensuring universal and equitable access to them; suggested being in strong solidarity with the international community, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi (the Global Alliance for Vaccine), and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI); and mentioned that the ROK government will consider providing vaccines to developing countries, including by contributing to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

° [Economic recovery] Minister Kang noted that it is important to make steady efforts to achieve the two goals -- disease prevention and control, and economic recovery. She went on to stress that, to that end, it is necessary to safeguard multilateralism and a free trade system in the region underpinned by international norms, boost economic activities of small- and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners, and to institutionalize fast track procedures between the ROK and the Mekong countries to facilitate the essential movement of people, including business people.

° [Environment] Minister Kang mentioned that, as 60 million people, whose livelihoods are dependent on the Mekong River, are facing socio-economic difficulties due to the shortages of water resources in the Mekong River and natural disasters, among others, no effort should be spared in responding to this issue. She added that the ROK government has pledged to render active assistance in managing water resources and preserving biodiversity in the Mekong region.

5. In response, the Ministers of the five Mekong countries expressed their consent on the direction of future cooperation put forward by Minister Kang and extended appreciation to the ROK government for providing Mekong countries with various quarantine equipments to help them respond to COVID-19.

° In particular, the Ministers highly commended the ROK government for emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in not only developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics but also ensuring and maintaining universal and equitable access to them, and suggested that the ROK and the Mekong countries make concerted efforts to restore the regional connectivity by promoting  essential movement of people between the two regions.

6. The participants in the meeting drew a common understanding that efforts to broaden the horizon of Mekong-ROK cooperation at the grass-roots level are necessary. In particular, they expressed hope that, as 2021, the year marking the 10th anniversary of Mekong-ROK cooperation, has been designated as a “Mekong-ROK Exchange Year,” opportunities would be created for people of the six countries to engage in free communication, including various cultural events participated by ordinary citizens.

7. The Ministers of the six countries agreed to discuss ways to upgrade the Mekong-ROK partnership to a strategic level in order to further consolidate the vision for the development of the Mekong-ROK cooperation as well as their political will.

8. Lastly, the Ministers of the six countries exchanged views on key regional and global issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

° With regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Kang stressed that, despite the current difficult circumstances, the ROK government remains unwavering in its commitment to moving the Korean Peninsula peace process forward and that an early resumption of dialogue between the two Koreas and between the United States and North Korea is the most pressing task. She went on to ask the Mekong countries to play constructive roles toward complete denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

° In response, the Mekong countries, recognizing that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is closely connected to prosperity in the region, expressed support for the ROK government’s efforts to seek progress in inter-Korean relations as well as peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to resume dialogue and communication with North Korea.

° Concerning the South China Sea, Minister Kang reiterated the importance of safeguarding the freedoms of navigation and overflight, adding that it is very important to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

9. By concluding the Mekong-ROK Meeting, Minister Kang successfully wrapped up the ASEAN-ROK and Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meetings.

° The Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is part of the ROK’s new southern diplomacy that has continued even amid the COVID-19 crisis, including the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings held on September 9-12, Minister Kang’s official visit to Viet Nam on September 17-18, and the visit to the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of Indonesia by Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Gunn on September 24-29.

° The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to continue active efforts in order for the recent series of achievements in new southern diplomacy to lead to the success of the ASEAN-related Summit scheduled for this November.