Vice Minister Jo Se-young Holds 8th Phone Consultation with Deputy Foreign Ministers of 7 Countries... "Exchanged Views on COVID-19, Aviation, and Agriculture Impact"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the morning of the 8th, Cho Se-young, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in the 8th telephone consultation among deputy foreign ministers of seven countries?South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Vietnam?to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The consultations among the deputy foreign ministers of the seven countries have been held regularly every week since the first consultation on March 20. Attendees included Stephen Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Takeo Akiba, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Frances Adamson, Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Chris Seed, Deputy Secretary of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and Harsh Shringla, Senior Deputy Foreign Secretary of India.

During this consultation, the deputy foreign ministers shared the trends and response measures regarding the spread of COVID-19 in each country and exchanged broad opinions on the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors such as aviation and agriculture.

Vice Minister Cho introduced, "As the number of confirmed domestic cases has recently stabilized, the Korean government ended social distancing measures on the 6th and transitioned to a 'living quarantine' phase, in which daily life and economic and social activities are carried out while thoroughly continuing infection prevention activities." He added, "The Korean government has announced individual and group quarantine guidelines to implement living distancing and emphasized that living quarantine does not mean returning to pre-COVID-19 normalcy, maintaining vigilance."

He also explained that the Korean government is preparing measures to improve the medical utilization system, such as designating and operating about 1,000 respiratory clinics, and is making thorough preparations to respond to the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Cho expressed gratitude to the Japanese side for their cooperation in safely repatriating a child who had to urgently return from India for leukemia treatment, and evaluated the active cooperation among countries to ensure the safe return of their citizens.

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