Vice Minister Cho Expresses Regret Over Racist Attacks in Germany... Germany States "Will Respond Firmly with Zero Tolerance"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 10th, Vice Minister Cho Se-young held a video conference with Miguel Berger, German Deputy Foreign Minister, at Germany's request, discussing bilateral relations, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, cooperation on the international stage, and responses to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Vice Minister Cho stated that this year is a special year as Germany is serving as the Chair of the European Union (EU), expressing expectations that under Germany's leadership, the EU will effectively overcome challenges including COVID-19. He also mentioned that efforts should be made together to further strengthen Korea-EU relations during Germany's chairmanship.
Both sides evaluated the active high-level exchanges, including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's visit to Germany this year to hold a ministerial meeting, and agreed on the necessity to resume face-to-face diplomacy once the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, while continuing to promote non-face-to-face diplomacy.
Additionally, Vice Minister Cho expressed gratitude for the German government's consistent support and close cooperation with the Korean government's efforts to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and requested Germany's active cooperation to enable North Korea's return to the dialogue table.
In response, Deputy Minister Berger reaffirmed Germany's support for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, stating that as the Chair of the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee and a country that has experienced division and reunification, Germany will provide necessary support.
Both sides agreed to closely cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally to effectively overcome the COVID-19 crisis. They also shared the view that it is necessary to uphold multilateralism and liberalism and respond to deglobalization during the current crisis, agreeing that vaccines and treatments should be utilized as international public goods.
Vice Minister Cho emphasized the need to allow Korean nationals to enter Germany for essential purposes such as economic activities and humanitarian reasons despite the COVID-19 situation, and Deputy Minister Berger stated that people-to-people exchanges between the two countries need to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels, proposing continued consultations to this end.
In particular, Vice Minister Cho expressed regret over incidents of racist attacks against Koreans in Germany following the spread of COVID-19 and requested Germany's special attention and support. Deputy Minister Berger deeply sympathized with Korea's concerns, stating that Germany will actively respond with zero tolerance to discrimination and hate crimes against specific races and will pay close attention to ensuring the safety of Korean nationals in Germany.
A Foreign Ministry official said, "This meeting is meaningful as it was the first video conference between the deputy foreign ministers of the two countries, reviewing the current status of cooperation and discussing ways to develop bilateral relations in a future-oriented manner despite the COVID-19 situation," adding, "Going forward, we will continue to communicate closely through various methods and channels such as video conferences to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes not only in economic and trade fields but also in multilateral and international cooperation between the two countries."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
