1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Seoul Policy Centre co-hosted “Seoul Debates 2021” on the topic of ‘Development Cooperation and Knowledge Exchange: Taking Stock and Moving Forward’ on June 15.

° The event brought together Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ham Sang-wook, Administrator of UNDP Achim Steiner, President of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) Oh Youngju, and President of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Sohn Hyuk-Sang, as well as representatives of governments, international organizations, academia and civil society from Korea and abroad.

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° The Seoul Debates is an event that has been hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre (USPC) since 2013, to provide a global platform for knowledge exchange and cooperation on development topics between Korea and its partner countries. This year’s Seoul Debates is the fourth one.

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2. In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Ham highlighted that knowledge sharing has been a top priority in Korea’s development cooperation, and in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea shared its relevant experiences and know-how with over 120 countries.

° The Deputy Minister also emphasized that development cooperation not only in financial terms, but also in the form of knowledge exchange is becoming ever more valuable in the context of COVID-19, and appreciated that the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre has been actively sharing Korean development experiences with the international community over the last ten years.

3. The first session of the Seoul Debates 2021, which was moderated by President of IFANS Oh Youngju, was held in the form of a high-level policy dialogue between UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and President of KOICA Sohn Hyuk-Sang under the theme of ‘Development Cooperation in Times of Global Turmoil.’

° Participants also discussed the implications and way forward with regard to development cooperation in the rapidly changing global context, as well as major cases and achievements of the knowledge sharing programme of the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to share Korea’s development experiences and policies with the international community, in close partnership with UNDP and its Seoul Policy Centre.