1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Gunn visited the Republic of Indonesia following his visit to the Republic of Singapore, and had discussions on ways to strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Indonesia and between the ROK and ASEAN on September 28-29.

(ROK-Indonesia bilateral schedule)

2. On September 28, Deputy Minister Kim paid a courtesy call on Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Retno L.P. Marsudi, met with Director General for Asia-Pacific and African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Desra Percaya, and visited the Indonesia-Korea Business Cooperation Center. On September 29, he had a meeting with Korean business people in Indonesia.

3. Deputy Minister Kim paid a courtesy call on Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Retno on the afternoon of September 28, and discussed ways to facilitate high-level exchanges and strategic communication between the two countries and to increase cooperation in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis.

o Minister Retno noted with appreciation that even amid the COVID-19 situation, robust high-level exchanges have been underway since the implementation of the fast track procedure, including the recent visit to the ROK by Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises and the Chairman of Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, as well as Deputy Minister Kim’s visit to Indonesia. Minister Retno went on to express hope that the two countries would continue to enhance economic cooperation, including Korean companies’ expansion of investment in Indonesia.

o Deputy Minister Kim conveyed Minister Kang, Kyung-wha’s invitation to Minister Retno to visit the ROK. Minister Retno expressed appreciation for the invitation, and hoped to visit the ROK in the near future. The two sides also agreed to discuss ways to hold the 2nd Young Leaders' Dialogue during the Foreign Minister’s visit and on other occasions.

o Minister Retno said that the Foreign Ministers of the two countries have been in close communication through frequent telephone consultations, including the useful conversation with Minister Kang on the selection of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, and added that Indonesia will review its position, taking into account the explanations of the ROK side.

o The two sides took note that the two countries have been smoothly continuing bilateral cooperation to overcome COVID-19, including collaboration in the private sector to develop vaccines. In particular, Minister Retno explained the Indonesian government’s efforts to secure large quantities of high-quality, safe, and effective vaccines.

o Deputy Minister Kim asked for Indonesia’s attention and support regarding the 2nd P4G Summit and the 4th UN Peacekeeping Ministerial to be held in the ROK in the first half of next year, as well as the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)’s activities.

o In addition, the two sides agreed on the need to deepen bilateral strategic communication and cooperation in national defense, security and the defense industry, and agreed to work to hold the 1st Foreign and Defense Senior Officials’ (2+2) Meeting in a face-to-face or virtual format at an appropriate time this year, considering the COVID-19 situation.

o The two sides also exchanged views on key regional issues including the ROK government’s initiative to strengthen cooperation between the ROK and maritime Southeast Asia.

4. Prior to the courtesy call, Deputy Minister Kim met with Director General Desra Percaya and discussed in detail the issues mentioned above. They also discussed ways to step up bilateral cooperation on economic recovery and health cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

o Director General Desra noted with appreciation that even amid the COVID-19 crisis, the ROK-Indonesia special strategic partnership has been further solidifying, including through cooperation in disease prevention and control and the implementation of the fast track procedure for essential travel (August 17). Director General Desra expressed appreciation to the ROK for supporting Indonesia’s response to COVID-19, including through the joint production of equipment related to preventing infectious diseases and humanitarian assistance.

o The two sides agreed to work together to expand the fast track aimed at enabling the movement of essential personnel, including business people, to the multilateral front, and continue to strengthen cooperation on post-COVID-19 economic recovery, including efforts to bring into force the ROK-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as early as possible as well as cooperation to expand investment cooperation between the two countries.

- Deputy Minister Kim asked for Indonesia’s continued attention and support regarding drawing up measures to improve the business environment for Korean companies in Indonesia and provide institutional support to them so that the two countries can see more successful cases of investment cooperation.

o The two sides agreed to participate actively in international cooperation to promote vaccine multilateralism, and looked forward to the role of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), of which the vision is developing and distributing safe, effective, and affordable vaccines. They also discussed measures to institutionalize bilateral cooperation in preventing and tackling diseases.

5. Deputy Minister Kim had a meeting with Korean business people in Indonesia on September 29. He listened to the difficulties faced by Korean companies amid the COVID-19 situation, and discussed ways to support their business activities.

o Deputy Minister Kim and other participants shared the difficulties that the Korean community is experiencing in economic activities amid the COIVD-19 situation, and agreed on the need for close cooperation between the public and private sectors to resolve the difficulties.

6. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Kim visited the Indonesia-Korea Business Cooperation Center in Jakarta, and asked the newly-established center to actively provide tailored support to Korean companies willing to enter the countries in the region, based on deep understanding of the circumstances on the ground.

(ASEAN-related schedule)

7. Deputy Minister Kim paid a courtesy call on Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi in a virtual format on September 29.

8. Secretary-General Lim expressed appreciation to the ROK for participating preemptively and actively in ASEAN’s efforts to overcome COVID-19, and particularly praised the ROK’s substantive contribution to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and the project to enhance the detection capacity for COVID-19 in ASEAN countries, as well as its initiative to launch the ASEAN-ROK Health Ministers’ meeting.

o Furthermore, Secretary-General Lim noted with appreciation that despite the COVID-19 situation, the New Southern Policy is serving as a strong foundation for the ROK-ASEAN cooperation, and expressed gratitude for continuing substantive cooperation in a range of areas, including conducting the Technical Vocational Education and Training program, supporting the scholarship program for University faculty, and nurturing experts in disaster management, with the ROK Mission to ASEAN playing a leading role.

9. Deputy Minister Kim commended ASEAN countries for managing the COVID-19 situation relatively well and making active efforts for economic recovery, and mentioned that the ROK’s New Southern Policy will also be modified to overcome COVID-19 and promote inclusive co-prosperity of the ROK and ASEAN.

o In addition, Deputy Minister Kim asked for ASEAN’s attention and support regarding the facilitation of essential travel between the ROK and ASEAN as well as the ROK’s candidate for the WTO Director-General.

10. Deputy Minister Kim also met with Ambassador Tran Duc Binh of the Permanent Mission to ASEAN of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, ASEAN’s chair for this year, and Ambassador Hairani Tajuddin of the Permanent Mission to ASEAN of Brunei Darussalam, the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations.