Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea(ROK) Cho Sei-young had the 3rd multilateral teleconference with his counterparts of countries in the region April 3.
The teleconference among the vice foreign ministers of 7 countries in the region — the Republic of Korea, the United States, Japan, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the Republic of India — took place on a weekly basis following the first meeting on March 20.
The vice foreign ministers shared the progress in the COVID-19 response in their respective countries and discussed ways to cooperate on international assistance to vulnerable countries, maintaining global supply chains and repatriation of nationals, among others, amid the global spread of COVID-19.
Vice Minister Cho mentioned that the ROK government had been providing medical items including testing kits to vulnerable countries to the extent that it did not affect the supply and demand at home; explained that more than 4,000 Korean nationals’ returned home from around the world had been facilitated by close cooperation with a number of countries; and stressed that the countries should continue close cooperation regarding humanitarian assistance and consular affairs.
In addition, Cho explained that, in response to the growing inflow of COVID-19 from abroad, the ROK government had subjected all inbound travelers to a 14-day mandatory quarantine and had made separate entry procedures available for essential economic exchanges. He said further that the countries would jointly set standards for maintaining essential travel even amid the spread of COVID-19.
The vice ministers agreed to continue close communication and collaboration through regular teleconferences in order to effectively respond to COVID-19.
