1. Mr. Lee Seong-ho, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Eckhard Franz, Director-General for External Economic Policy of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany, held a virtual meeting on November 12, and discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation in COVID-19 response, bilateral economic affairs, and the digital and energy sectors.

o The Republic of Korea and Germany have held a meeting of the Joint Economic Committee every year, and this year, the two countries agreed to hold a virtual meeting on key economic issues between the two countries, considering the COVID-19 situation.

2. The two sides assessed the COVID-19 situation and its economic impact in their countries, and discussed issues regarding global supply chains and measures to overcome the economic crisis.

o The ROK side introduced the ROK government’s Digital New Deal, Green New Deal, and policies for strengthening social safety nets. The German side expressed interest and proposed to increase cooperation in those areas.

o The two sides agreed to continue to work to facilitate the movement of essential personnel between the two countries.

3. In addition, the two sides discussed current issues in bilateral trade, and as a follow-up of the 32nd Joint Economic Committee Meeting last year, discussed ways to increase bilateral cooperation in climate change, the digital sector, and energy partnership.

o On climate change, the ROK side explained the ROK government’s 2050 Carbon Neutrality Pledge and Green New Deal, and asked for Germany’s attention and support for the P4G Summit next year.

o The global landscape expected to change after the U.S. presidential election, the two sides reaffirmed their firm support for rules-based multilateral trading order, and discussed the two countries’ trade strategies in response to the changing landscape.

o On digital cooperation, the two sides noted that the ROK Ministry of Science and ICT and German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy are working to establish the Digital Dialogue with the purpose of expanding cooperation in areas such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, big data, artificial intelligence, and the establishment of digital platforms.

4. The two sides noted that this high-level economic consultation, which came after Foreign Minister Kang, Kyung-wha’s visit to Germany in August (first trip abroad since the outbreak of COVID-19) and the phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and Chancellor Angela Merkel in October, served as an opportunity to further reinforce cooperative relations between the ROK, Germany’s key partner in Asia, and Germany, the ROK’s largest trading partner in Europe.

o The two sides positively noted the utility of this virtual meeting held to discuss current issues, and agreed to hold the 33rd meeting of the ROK-Germany Joint Economic Committee at an appropriate time next year.