President Moon Proposes Establishing Korea-ASEAN Health Ministers Dialogue Channel

ASEAN+3 Special Virtual Summit 'Agenda Speech'... "Essential personnel such as businesspeople, healthcare workers, and humanitarian visitors must be able to move as freely as possible"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in stated in his 'agenda remarks' at the ASEAN+3 Special Video Summit on the 14th, "It is necessary to strengthen the regional health cooperation system to actively share and jointly utilize each country's accumulated quarantine information and clinical data," and proposed "the establishment of a ‘Korea-ASEAN Health Ministers Dialogue Channel’ in addition to the ASEAN+3 Health Ministers Meeting channel."

President Moon explained, "By promoting the ‘Korea-ASEAN Webinar,’ we can share quarantine policies and experiences, and in the near future, directly invite health experts from ASEAN to visit quarantine sites, hold meetings among health experts, and connect direct support from Korean companies."

President Moon emphasized, "We must also accelerate cooperation in the development of ‘therapeutics and vaccines’ within the ASEAN+3 framework. Korea is closely collaborating with related international organizations such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the International Vaccine Institute," and pledged, "We will actively participate in the vaccine development efforts of ASEAN+3 and the international community."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon continued with additional proposals to strengthen solidarity and policy coordination within ASEAN+3. He stated, "Active cooperation is needed at both bilateral and multilateral levels within the region to ensure that quarantine and medical supplies are provided timely to those in need," and added, "Korea has secured additional humanitarian aid budgets and will cooperate to the fullest extent possible with support requests from ASEAN and other countries as circumstances allow."

President Moon said, "We are also discussing ways to utilize the Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund. We hope that all available resources, including support through the Asian Development Bank (ADB) trust fund and fund-raising within the ASEAN+3 framework, will be mobilized so that all member countries can overcome the COVID-19 crisis together."

President Moon emphasized, "To minimize the negative impact on the global economy, it is essential to maintain economic exchanges, human exchanges, trade and investment, and the essential flow of food supplies," and noted, "The WTO forecasts that global trade could decrease by up to 32% due to the spread of COVID-19. We expect the global supply chain to operate as much as possible starting from ASEAN+3."

President Moon remarked, "The RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) agreement, which we agreed upon last November, will be a great strength once signed this year."

In particular, President Moon stressed, "Furthermore, I propose that we jointly seek ways to allow essential personnel such as businesspeople, healthcare workers, and those visiting for humanitarian purposes to move as freely as possible within the limits that do not undermine each country's quarantine measures."

Regarding food issues, President Moon urged, "Asian countries should refrain from restricting food exports individually and work together to ensure the smooth flow of food supply chains," and added, "I hope the ‘ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve System,’ launched in 2012, will be prepared to be activated promptly whenever necessary."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, President Moon also explained Korea's response to COVID-19. He said, "Korea has consistently adhered to three principles of openness, transparency, and democracy in responding to COVID-19," and stated, "To prevent the spread of infectious diseases and reduce fatalities, the best approach is to rapidly identify and isolate infected individuals and their contacts through intensive tracing and testing, and take necessary measures such as treatment."

President Moon explained, "Rapid testing must be supported, and Korea has early commercialized highly accurate diagnostic reagents through the ‘Emergency Use Authorization system,’ and introduced creative methods such as ‘drive-through’ and ‘walk-through’ testing centers in addition to screening clinics to increase testing speed."

He added, "To overcome infectious diseases, the public must be the main agents of quarantine. To effectively implement ‘social distancing’ without lockdowns or movement restrictions, active participation from the public is essential."

President Moon said, "If IT technologies such as the ‘self-quarantine app’ and ‘self-diagnosis app’ are well utilized, the effectiveness of self-quarantine can be enhanced. Above all, the rapid and transparent disclosure of all epidemiological information, including the movements of confirmed cases, greatly helped voluntary public participation," and noted, "The Korean government is paying attention to economic stabilization alongside quarantine measures."

President Moon stated, "Korea has implemented an economic stimulus policy worth 120 billion USD to prevent contraction in consumption, investment, and industrial activities, and is devising various measures such as providing funds to small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs and reducing tax burdens to protect vulnerable groups."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.