ROK-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on May 1

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, who visited Melbourne, Australia, to attend the sixth ROK-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers' (2+2) Meeting (May 1), met with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong on the morning of Wednesday, May 1. They exchanged views on common interests including high-level exchanges, cooperation on defense and defense industries, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, economic security, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Minister Cho expressed his gratitude to Australia for hosting the sixth ROK-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers' (2+2) Meeting. He pointed out that Australia is Korea's friend, the second nation to commit troops to the Korean War in support of Korea, and Korea's partner that shares values and strategic perspectives on regional and global affairs. He went on to take note of continued close communication and cooperation between the two "Comprehensive Strategic Partners."

Minister Wong welcomed Minister Cho's bilateral visit to Australia, emphasized the critical importance of cooperation among like-minded countries amid current challenges posed to the rules-based international order, and stated that Australia attaches great significance to the advancement of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" with Korea.

The two Ministers appreciated ongoing close high-level exchanges between the two countries, including the recently held eighth ROK-Australia Strategic Dialogue (April 16, Seoul) and the sixth ROK-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers' (2+2) Meeting. They agreed to continue close strategic communication between the two countries, including summit-level exchanges.

The two Ministers reaffirmed that Korea and Australia share a lot in their response strategies to the changing geopolitical landscape. They drew the common understanding that the two countries are core partners for the implementation of their respective Indo-Pacific strategies, and agreed to continue exploring concrete ways for carrying out cooperation at bilateral, minilateral and other levels in the course of implementing those strategies.

In addition, the two Ministers appreciated the recent remarkable advances in cooperation between the two countries in defense and the defense industry and agreed to actively provide diplomatic support so that the 2+2 Meeting can serve as a turning point in expanding such cooperation between the two countries.