1. On November 24, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kweon Ki-hwan met with Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships of UNICEF Kitty van der Heijden during the latter’s visit to Korea. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on ways to strengthen Korea-UNICEF cooperation amid the deepening global humanitarian crisis including the situation due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

2. Deputy Minister Kweon commended UNICEF for making efforts to promote children’s human rights in various areas, including climate change, public healthcare and humanitarian aid, through its networks with 190 countries and regions across the world. He added that UNICEF being one of its priority partner organizations in the area of multilateral development, Korea attaches significance to its partnership with the organization. He went on to say that amid the growing cooperative ties between Korea and UNICEF, it is important for UNICEF to bolster its responsibility. He also stated that, in that light, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review the achievements from Korea-UNICEF cooperation and thoroughly explore the way forward.

3. Deputy Executive Director van der Heijden conveyed appreciation to the Korean government for expanding its contribution to the international community. She said that as new Deputy Executive Director, she will work to use the contribution from the Korean government in an effective and responsible manner with a view to further deepening cooperative relations between Korea and UNICEF.

4. The Korean government will continue to increase cooperation with UNICEF in a bid to better protect children and youth across the world and to promote their welfare.