1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), hosted the “11th High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership” under the theme of “Comprehensive Digital and Green Partnership” on December 1.

2. This Forum was held in a hybrid online and offline format, and its offline participants from the Caribbean region included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago Reita Toussaint, Barbados Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Jackman, Director for Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea of the ACS Ana Ramirez, and Manager of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) Ansari Hosein.

° The offline participants from Korea included those from public and private sectors, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Rural Development Administration, the Green Technology Center, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.

3. In his opening remarks, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun noted with appreciation that the two sides have steadily expanded substantive cooperation in various areas including climate change, the e-government system and tourism since the launch of the High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership in 2011. He suggested that they boost their innovative partnership for digital and green transition by building on their solidarity such as that demonstrated in their joint response to COVID-19 last year.

° Vice Minister Choi mentioned that, to that end, the Korean government will support inclusive economic recovery of the Caribbean region in the post-COVID-19 era through the “Korea-CARICOM Cooperation Fund” which was established this year, and share experience in innovation for new growth.

4. At the Forum, participants through presentations and discussions broadened their understanding of the vulnerability to climate change and limited access to development resources of small island countries in the Caribbean. They also explored the possibility for cooperation and discussed ways to implement specific cooperative projects for responding to public health and food security crises which emerged as the most urgent challenges after the outbreak of COVID-19.

° In Session 1 on response to climate change (moderator: Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Choi Jong-uk), participants exchanged their ideas on possible cooperative projects such as establishing a digital weather forecasting system and renewable energy infrastructure as well as carrying out training programs for technicians and experts so that the Caribbean region can respond to the rise of sea level and natural disasters.

° In Session 2 on exploring Korea-CARICOM Cooperation Fund projects (moderator: Director-General for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare Yoon Chan Sik), participants reviewed the progress in major cooperative projects such as the Caribbean’s field epidemiology  training program and digital nutritional information database system which are underway with the support of the Korean government this year, and explored ways to push forward cooperative projects in the areas of public health and digital agriculture next year.

5. This 11th High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership served as a significant opportunity to convey Korea’s willingness for continuous cooperation with the Caribbean region by discussing ways to respond to climate change, a traditional challenge that the Caribbean island countries face, as well as to implement substantive cooperation in the areas of public health and food security in the post-pandemic era.