1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the “Post-COVID19 Public Diplomacy Forum” online at 15:00-17:00, November 12 (Korea Standard Time), to establish platforms for public-private health cooperation with partner countries for the New Southern and New Northern Policies in the post-COVID-19 era.

o The Forum was organized together with Hanyang University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center and Korea University’s Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health to diagnose challenges, opportunities, and the way forward for regional health cooperation under the theme “Public-Private Health Cooperation in Asia to Cope with Infectious Diseases in the post-COVID19 Era.”

2. At the Forum, health experts from the Republic of Korea and major partner countries for the New Southern and New Northern Policies including the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia who attended the Forum virtually discussed cases of international medical cooperation to cope with COVID 19 and the future of global health cooperation as well as the role of regional public-private partnership in Asia in tackling COVID-19.

o In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chang Jae-bok expressed hope that the Forum would serve as an opportunity to share experiences and views with Asian health experts and to further facilitate exchanges and cooperation between the public and private sectors in the region in order to overcome COVID-19 together.

3. At the virtual Forum, health experts from home and abroad shared specific cases of each country’s response to the COVID-19 crisis as well as constructive ways of health cooperation among countries, and discussed the importance of sustainable platforms for public-private cooperation and dialogue.

o In Session 1 held under the theme “Cases of International Medical Cooperation to cope with COVID19 and the Future of Global Health Cooperation,” Korea Foundation Special Representative for Health Diplomacy Jee Youngmee made a presentation, and Mario C. Villaverde, Undersecretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines, Peninnah Oberdorfer, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University of Thailand, Choi Jae-Wook, Professor of Korea University College of Medicine, and Laziz Tuichiev, Rector of Tashkent Medical Academy of Uzbekistan, attended the session as panelists.

o In Session 2 held under the theme “The Role of Public-Private Partnership within the Asian Region to Manage Infectious Diseases including COVID19,” Choi Youn Hee, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, made a presentation. Also, Yoon Tae Young, Principal Researcher at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono, Head of the Department of Epidemiology, Public Health Faculty, University of Indonesia, Jimmy Susanto, Business Development Senior Manager of Kalbe Farma of Indonesia, attended the session as panelists.

4. The Public Diplomacy Forum, held amid the growing importance of regional health cooperation in overcoming infectious diseases including COVID-19, served as an opportunity for health experts from various fields to seek ways to establish sustainable and substantive platforms for public-private health cooperation.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to promote exchanges among the private sector with the aim of advancing friendly and cooperative relations in Asia, and explore interactive public diplomacy models in cooperation with civilian experts at home and abroad.

o A video containing the main discussions in the Forum will be posted later on the YouTube channel of the Foreign Ministry’s Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs Bureau “Korea Public Diplomacy (KOREAZ).”