1.   Ambassador for International Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lee Choongmyon took part as head delegate from the government of the Republic of Korea in the 6th Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building measures in Asia(CICA), which took place in Nursultan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, on October 11 and 12, 2021.

o In the 6th CICA Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which was hosted by Kazakhstan, the chair of CICA, under the theme of “Security and sustainable development in Asia in new realities of the post-pandemic world” the CICA Members States discussed such issues as the current security situation in the CICA area, economic development in the post-pandemic period, enhancement of international cooperation in combating traditional and new challenges and implementation of confidence building measures in different areas of CICA activities.

2.   In the ROK head delegate’s remarks on October 12, Ambassador Lee explained the ROK Government’s endeavor for security and sustainable development in Asia such as vaccination cooperation and corresponding to climate change as well as its ambition to host the 2023 UNFCCC COP. Ambassador Lee also asked the CICA Member States to support the ROK government’s policy regarding the establishment of peace in Asia via denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and stabilization of Afghanistan.

o In addition, given that a number of CICA Member States are partners for the ROK’s New Southern Policy and New Northern Policy, the Ambassador took note that the ROK government’s foreign policy and CICA’s goal to step up exchanges and cooperation among the Asian countries can produce synergistic effects. In this regard, the Ambassador showed the ROK Government’s will to communicate and cooperate with CICA Member States in various fields.

3.   The CICA Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which was scheduled in 2020, has delayed one year due to Covid-19, is assessed to have served as an opportunity to take the confidence among the CICA Member States to the next level and for the ROK government to win broader support from the international community on its diplomatic efforts in post-pandemic.