[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government held the inaugural meeting of the "UN Health Security Friends Group" via video conference on the morning of the 12th (New York time) to strengthen UN-level responses to health security issues such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and discussed future directions with participating member states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that, based on the international community's trust in Korea's exemplary COVID-19 response, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN led the establishment of the Friends Group to create a platform for free discussion and enhanced cooperation on health security issues including COVID-19 within the UN.
The Friends Group, launched for the first time at the UN since the spread of COVID-19, will be co-chaired by Korea, Canada, Denmark, Qatar, and Sierra Leone, and will operate as an open group allowing other UN member states to participate freely.
The inaugural meeting was attended by over 200 participants including Foreign Ministers of the co-chair countries including Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, David Nabarro, WHO COVID-19 Special Envoy, Kevin Rudd, Chair of the International Peace Institute (IPI) Board and former Prime Minister of Australia, UN diplomats and Secretariat officials, and health experts, who welcomed the launch of the Friends Group and discussed ways to strengthen international cooperation.
In her welcoming remarks, Minister Kang Kyung-wha emphasized that an action-oriented and timely comprehensive response is crucial for addressing global infectious diseases including COVID-19, and expressed hope that the newly launched Friends Group, proposed by the Korean government, will become an effective multilateral cooperation platform to explore such measures at the UN level.
Accordingly, the Foreign Ministers of the co-chair countries praised Korea's leadership in spearheading the launch of the Friends Group and expressed their commitment to actively contribute to strengthening global health security efforts including COVID-19 response.
Invited speakers such as the UN Deputy Secretary-General also emphasized the UN's role in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, discussing the need for international cooperation to minimize impacts across various fields including health, peace and security, development, and human rights, and to promote global recovery from COVID-19.
Dr. Lee Min-won, Director of the Emergency Operations Center at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, who participated as a Korean speaker, shared Korea's challenges faced during COVID-19 and successful response experiences based on transparency, openness, and democracy, which drew high interest from meeting participants.
UN representatives from various countries and UN Secretariat officials attending the inaugural meeting highly evaluated the Korean government's leading role in UN-level discussions such as the launch of the Friends Group based on its exemplary response experience, and expected that in-depth discussions within the Friends Group will greatly contribute to coordinated UN responses and effective actions on health security issues including COVID-19.
A Foreign Ministry official explained, "The Friends Group is expected to serve as an important platform to seek the promotion of human security based on solidarity and cooperation within the UN, focusing not only on COVID-19 response but also on various international health security challenges that the international community may face," adding, "As a co-chair of the Friends Group, our government plans to continue leading international health cooperation by sharing K-quarantine related know-how and advanced medical system establishment expertise."
Meanwhile, the Friends Group plans to carry out various activities based on consultations among participating countries, including ?regular ambassador-level meetings and other consultative bodies, ?expert briefings and roundtables, and ?joint statements and side events at UN meetings.
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