1. The 11^th Republic of Korea-South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Partnership Seminar took place at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul on August 3 in a video format, co-hosted by the Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute of Indian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and bringing together delegates of the eight member states of SAARC.

° The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held the ROK-SAARC Partnership Seminar on an annual basis since 2010 with government officials and experts invited from the eight SAARC member states -- the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Republic of Maldives -- to shed light on the progress in the development of the partnership and discuss the way forward for cooperation between the ROK and the South Asian countries.

° Considering the difficulty of foreign figures in visiting the ROK due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seminar was held on a YouTube channel in real time, consisting of presentations by officials of the SAARC headquarters and free discussions between the ROK side and figures of the SAARC members states in the ROK.

2. The Seminar brought together high-level officials of foreign and health ministries of the SAARC member countries, figures of the SAARC member countries in the ROK, and members of major think tanks and academic circles at home and abroad, including the Institute of Indian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, who discussed in depth ways for cooperation between the ROK and the South Asian countries on health and disease prevention and control as well as on poverty alleviation.

° The delegates from SAARC highly commended the successful results of disease prevention and control efforts based on the outstanding capacity of Korean medical personnel, voiced hope for the application and expansion of the “K-Quarantine” model to the South Asian region, and expressed interest in the ROK-South Asia cooperation on the inequality and poverty issues triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

° The ROK delegates agreed on the need for tailored cooperation on health and disease prevention and control with South Asia considering the region’s unique situation and introduced the ROK’s various social safety network systems designed to protect vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 era.

3. The event, held amid the growing interest at home and abroad in the social and economic inequality issues to be brought by COVID-19, is seen to have served as an opportunity to share the ROK’s experiences in responding to infectious diseases and expanding its social safety networks with South Asia, where health and poverty issues are arising, as well as an opportunity to improve ways to achieve shared prosperity between the ROK and South Asia.