By Cyber Era Reporter
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Kang, Kyung-wha had a multilateral telephone consultation with her counterparts of countries affected by COVID-19 March 19, and discussed ways for international cooperation in responding to the pandemic.
The telephone consultation, which came after the first one held on March 15 among foreign ministers of countries affected by COVID, was joined by the foreign ministers of six countries namely the Republic of Korea, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Italian Republic, and the Republic of Turkey as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The foreign ministers shared the progress in disease control measures, travel restrictions, and economic and social measures that their respective countries had taken in response to COVID-19 since their first consultation held last Sunday, and exchanged views on the significance of stronger international cooperation at the G20.
In particular, with regard to the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the G20 chair, to hold a special video summit among the G20 countries, the foreign ministers underscored the need for the G20 member states to collaborate closely so that the G20 could draw up comprehensive and effective measures for responding to global health and economic crises.
Kang suggested that, while working closely together to curb the spread of COVID-19, individual countries took relevant measures in a non-discriminatory, transparent and open way.
In particular, the Minister stressed that, in order to minimize damage to travelers, it was important for countries to give prior notices and hold consultations before they took immigration measures, such as entry restrictions. She went on to point out the need to consider granting exceptions to those entering for humanitarian reasons as well as for business.
In response, the foreign ministers shared the understanding that, as cancelled flights and entry bans, among others, were making it considerably difficult for travelers to return home, countries needed to work closely together at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
