1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 18th Annual Policy Consultation between the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in New York on March 3. The head delegates to the meeting were Director-General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Won Doyeon (ROK) and Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships Karin Hulshof (UNICEF).

2. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen strategic cooperation in responding to climate change and agreed to discuss, among others, ways to increase the private sector’s participation and use innovative technology in implementing the Call to Action on climate change, as discussed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin and Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell last November.

3. The two sides, taking note of the further growing partnership between the ROK and UNICEF since the outbreak of COVID-19, agreed to work together to resolve crises facing children, including climate change and disasters, through the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDP Nexus).

° The two sides exchanged views on the ROK’s development cooperation policy and UNICEF’s strategic priorities; climate action; ways for cooperation in the fields of health, digital transformation and innovative finance; humanitarian action to countries such as North Korea, Syria, Türkiye and Ukraine; and ways to expand Korean nationals’ presence in UNICEF.

4. The ROK government, together with UNICEF, will continue efforts to promote the protection, health and education of children and adolescents across the world, actively playing its role as a Global Pivotal State.