7-Nation Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Deputy Minister Lee Tae-ho Says "Korean Economy's Relative Decline Level Is Low"

Seven Deputy Foreign Ministers from Korea, the US, Japan, and Four Other Countries Participate... Exchange Views on Resuming Economic Activities and Vaccine Distribution
11th Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the morning of the 31st, Lee Tae-ho, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in a telephone consultation among deputy foreign ministers of seven countries in the region to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The telephone consultation among deputy foreign ministers of the seven countries in the region, including Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Vietnam, has been held regularly 10 times, and this consultation was the 11th. Participants included Stephen Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Akiba Takeo, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Frances Adamson, Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia; Ben King, Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand; Harsh Shringla, Senior Deputy Foreign Secretary of India; and Nguyen Van Thao, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director General of the International Economic Department of Vietnam.

During this telephone consultation, the deputy foreign ministers exchanged views on △ ways to promote regional cooperation in response to COVID-19 △ measures to resume economic activities △ ways to safely resume international travel △ development and stable supply of vaccines and treatments.

Vice Minister Lee explained, "Although the domestic COVID-19 situation is relatively well controlled, as the number of imported cases has recently increased, efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 continue, such as requiring submission of negative test certificates for those entering from certain countries designated as quarantine-strengthened countries."

He added, "We continue international cooperation to minimize the socio-economic adverse effects of COVID-19, such as ensuring the movement of essential personnel including businesspeople," and introduced that "face-to-face diplomacy is resuming recently with visits such as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Biegun, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and foreign ministers of the UAE and Hungary."

Furthermore, Vice Minister Lee added, "Especially, despite the global economic downturn, the Korean economy has a relatively low level of economic recession due to the Korean government's proactive economic revitalization policies."

He also emphasized that the Korean government recently announced the Korean New Deal for a major transformation of the Korean economy in the post-COVID-19 era, aiming to invest 160 trillion won by 2025 to create 1.9 million jobs, focusing on three areas: △ Digital New Deal △ Green New Deal △ Strengthening the safety net, to leap forward as a leading country in the post-COVID-19 era.

Recalling that President Moon Jae-in recently urged equal global access to COVID-19 vaccines together with the prime ministers of seven countries including New Zealand, he stressed continuing cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine development and supply through global vaccine supply systems such as the COVAX Facility.

In response, the deputy ministers agreed on the importance of close communication and cooperation among regional countries amid the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and agreed to continue consultations as needed.

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