1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se chaired the fourth MIKTA Foreign Ministers’ meeting on November 15 on the sidelines of the recent G20 Summit. It was the second MIKTA Foreign Ministers’ meeting that he has chaired following the third meeting held in September. The meeting marked the first of its kind held on the sidelines of a G20 Summit since the launch of MIKTA.

* The meeting was also attended by Secretary of Foreign Affairs José Antonio Meade Kuribreña of Mexico; Foreign Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi of Indonesia; Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu of Turkey; and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop of Australia.

2. Given that the meeting took place on the sidelines of a G20 meeting, the Ministers discussed related and other global agenda items; and exchanged views on a wide range of ways for the MIKTA member countries to work together with one another and with non-member countries, which had been covered at the third meeting.

◦ The Ministers exchanged in-depth views on issues regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’s foreign fighters and ways to fight terrorism; the Ebola virus and cross-border epidemics; climate change and development; and wartime sexual violence against women and ways to promote rights and interests of women. In particular, they took note of the G20 Leaders' Brisbane Statement on Ebola issued at the G20 Summit.

- Minister Yun brought attention to the decision of the Republic of Korea to dispatch a medical team to West Africa in addition to its contribution of 10.60 million US dollars, as well as its bid to host the 2015 meeting of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA).

◦ With regard to ways for cooperation among the MIKTA member countries, the Ministers discussed possible measures in the following field in addition to follow-up measures for cooperation discussed at their third meeting -- which call for maintaining the political momentum, exchanging information and knowledge, promotion and public diplomacy, enhancing the visibility of MIKTA, and stepping up cooperation among the MIKTA countries.

- At the proposal by Australia, the MIKTA countries launched the two-month-long exchange program for junior diplomats and built a network of their think tanks selected to conduct research on the way forward for MIKTA.

- The countries also agreed to conduct parliamentarian exchange programs, to seek cooperation among their trade agencies in order to accelerate trade, and to encourage civilian economic cooperation among them.

- In particular, Minister Yun announced the plan of the ROK as the annual coordinator of MIKTA to set up the MIKTA website that will provide diverse information necessary for promoting cooperation among the MIKTA countries, on which Australia agreed to cooperate and play an active role.

* MIKTA’s website (www.mikta.org) is expected to be opened to the public in the first half of 2015, serving as MIKTA’s cyber secretariat that will play a role in institutionalizing MIKTA and stepping up communication with non-member countries.

◦ The Foreign Ministers agreed to hold their fifth meeting in the ROK in May 2015 -- a Retreat meeting, or one held in the coordinator country in the first half of every year -- and the first Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Seoul in February 2015 to review the progress in the implementation of the follow-up measures to their fourth meeting and prepare for the fifth meeting.

3. In addition to its aforementioned achievements, the fourth meeting carries many implications in terms of its way forward and contribution to the international community.

◦ Regardless of regime changes and Cabinet reshuffles, the new participants reaffirmed their strong willingness to participate in MIKTA activities.

◦ Every individual member country is bolstering its pivotal role in handling agendas of its region and the world as a whole.

◦ While acknowledging MIKTA as an informal as opposed to formal consultative mechanism, the member countries agree on the need to enhance its usefulness and role.

◦ Having established a SOM mechanism, MIKTA, albeit an informal consultative body, now has a structure and procedure similar to those of formal counterparts.

◦ Turkey, the next G20 chair country, has decided to positively consider hosting a MIKTA Foreign Minister’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in the country. If Turkey indeed hosts a MIKTA meeting, MIKTA will have convened at least triannually, laying the groundwork for the actual institutionalization of MIKTA.

◦ MIKTA does not merely serve as a platform for discussions on political situations but implements result-oriented and practical projects.

4. The ROK government, which played a leading role in the creation of MIKTA and hosted its two meetings, will hold the Retreat meeting in 2015 in conjunction with other international events in a continued effort to enhance MIKTA’s visibility and synergy effect. 


               Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation