Seongho Lee, Economic Diplomacy Coordinator, Holds Video Conference with Belarus Deputy Foreign Minister... Discusses Strengthening New Northern Cooperation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 26th, Lee Seong-ho, Director General for Economic Diplomacy Coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a video conference with Andrei Dapkunas, Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus.

Both sides discussed responses to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), follow-up measures of the 5th Korea-Belarus Economic Science and Technology Joint Committee, and ways to strengthen New Northern Cooperation.

Director General Lee explained Korea's current status in responding to COVID-19 and expressed gratitude that the Belarusian government included Korea among the countries exempted from self-quarantine upon entry. He also emphasized that active efforts and solidarity from the international community are important to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era.

Deputy Minister Dapkunas responded by expressing appreciation for the smooth progress of bilateral discussions regarding humanitarian aid requested by the Belarusian government. Furthermore, Deputy Minister Dapkunas welcomed the strengthening of Belarus’s capabilities through development cooperation between the two countries and expressed hope to realize the potential for cooperation in areas such as inter-company exchanges, information and communication technology (ICT), medical devices, petrochemical industry, and agricultural food products.

In response, Director General Lee stated that the Korean government is promoting the ‘New Northern Policy,’ which aims to create future growth engines through economic cooperation with northern countries and to realize a peaceful and prosperous northern economic community. He expressed hope to work together with Belarus to create common benefits in the northern region, including Belarus.

Deputy Minister Dapkunas evaluated Korea as a priority cooperation partner for Belarus in Asia and strongly hoped to deepen New Northern Cooperation. He also suggested strengthening cooperation at the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) level.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "This video conference was held between the chief representatives of the Korea-Belarus Economic Science and Technology Joint Committee, a regular consultative body between the two countries," "and it is meaningful in that it reviewed the achievements of bilateral cooperation over the past two years since the 5th Economic Science and Technology Joint Committee held in 2018, and agreed to explore new areas of cooperation before the 6th Joint Committee meeting."

Both sides hope that the COVID-19 situation will stabilize quickly and face-to-face diplomacy will resume. They agreed to maintain close communication through regular consultative bodies between the two countries to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes not only in economic and trade fields but also in cooperation on the international stage.

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