Ministry of Foreign Affairs Expresses Commitment to Multilateral Cooperation for Peace and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific... Collaboration on Climate Change and Maritime Security

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Kim Geon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the 20th Ministerial Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held via video conference on the 17th, where he discussed directions for cooperation toward sustainable growth and balanced development in the Indian Ocean Rim region and expressed Korea's commitment to cooperation for peace and prosperity in the region.

At this ministerial meeting, IORA member states and dialogue partners evaluated IORA's pivotal role in revitalizing multilateral dialogue and cooperation in the Indian Ocean Rim region and agreed to continue seeking cooperation measures to address regional challenges such as climate change, the Blue Economy, and maritime security.

Deputy Minister Kim expressed hope that this ministerial meeting would serve as an opportunity for Indian Ocean Rim countries to collectively respond to various challenges within the region and pool wisdom to advance peace and prosperity, stating that Korea plans to work closely with IORA member states and dialogue partners throughout this process.

He added that overcoming the unprecedented pandemic and responding to the resulting environmental changes require strengthened solidarity and cooperation within the international community.

Earlier, on the 16th, a day before the 22nd IORA Ministerial Meeting, Kim Jeong-han, Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Bureau, attended the 20th IORA Senior Officials Meeting held via video conference and introduced Korea's efforts to strengthen cooperation with countries in the Indian Ocean Rim region.

At this meeting, Director-General Kim evaluated that the 1st Korea-IORA Partnership Seminar, hosted by Korea on October 29, served as a key momentum for the development of Korea-IORA cooperative relations and expressed hope that the seminar would evolve into a platform for discovering promising cooperative projects between the Indian Ocean Rim region and Korea in the future.

A Foreign Ministry official assessed, "The recent IORA Ministerial Meeting and Senior Officials Meeting provided a valuable forum for sharing diverse opinions on maintaining momentum for cooperation within the Indian Ocean Rim amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation and for seeking enhanced cooperation among countries to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity in the region."

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