Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Choi Youngsam

February 8, 2022  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

First, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong will attend the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) Ministerial Conference to be held in a hybrid online and offline format tomorrow, Wednesday, February 9, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the OECD.

At the upcoming Conference, participants will review the direction of cooperation between the OECD and ASEAN and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the digital sector and green growth.

Foreign Minister Chung will take stock of the achievements of the OECD SEARP for the past four years under the co-chairmanship of Korea, while introducing the accomplishments of the New Southern Policy and stressing the need to enhance cooperation between the OECD and ASEAN.

Next, on Thursday, February 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong will hold a meeting and luncheon with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Bui Thanh Son, who will make an official visit to Korea to attend the OECD SEARP Ministerial Conference.

In the forthcoming meeting, the two Foreign Ministers will discuss ways to strengthen friendship and cooperation in a range of areas including foreign affairs, security, economy, health, and social and cultural affairs. They will also discuss key regional and global issues including peace on the Korean Peninsula and the situation in Myanmar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that Foreign Minister Son’s visit to Korea, which marks the first by a high-level Vietnamese official this year celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, would contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations in a substantive and future-oriented manner.

Next, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon will virtually attend (through the pre-recorded video) the 2^nd ministerial meeting of the Media Freedom Coalition to be held in Estonia on Wednesday evening, February 9.

The Media Freedom Coalition is a UK-led global initiative to advocate for the safety of journalists and media freedom. A total of 50 countries are participating in the coalition and Korea joined it in January last year.

In the upcoming meeting, Vice Minister Choi will stress solidarity with journalists around the world working for media freedom even under oppression and threat, and emphasize the Korean government’s commitment to contribute to and cooperate for the promotion and protection of media freedom.

Lastly, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon will deliver congratulatory remarks at the 4^th Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF 2022) on Thursday morning, February 10.

At the Forum, participants will discuss ways to increase participation of various stakeholders and strengthen partnership among them in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his congratulatory remarks, Vice Minister Choi will talk about the significance and achievements of the SDGs and stress the importance of international solidarity and cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and achieve inclusive recovery.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)