First MIKTA Foreign-Affairs and Health '2+2' SOM Held... "Urgent Need to Strengthen International Health System"

Strengthening Overall Cooperation in Infectious Disease and Healthcare Fields
Continuous 2+2 Format Consultations at All Levels

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The five MIKTA countries?South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and Australia?held the first MIKTA Foreign Affairs-Health 2+2 Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on the afternoon of the 26th, chaired by Ham Sang-wook, Multilateral Diplomacy Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss strengthening the international health system and cooperation measures among the five MIKTA countries.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the MIKTA Foreign Affairs and Health SOM unanimously emphasized the urgent need to improve and strengthen the current international health system centered on the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Health Regulations to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for similar health crises. They agreed to enhance cooperation in related discussions within the international community and across the infectious disease and healthcare sectors going forward.

Ham Sang-wook, Multilateral Diplomacy Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, “To effectively respond to transboundary infectious diseases like COVID-19, collaboration between major countries’ foreign affairs and health channels is more important than ever.” He added that with the foundation for strengthening health security cooperation through linkage between the foreign affairs and health authorities of the five countries established at today’s inaugural meeting, the 2+2 format consultations involving foreign affairs and health authorities of the five countries should continue at various levels in the future.

Jung Hong-geun, International Cooperation Officer at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, “South Korea, as a WHO Executive Board member from 2020 to 2023, is participating in international efforts for vaccine development and equitable distribution through contribution pledges,” and called for strengthening cooperation across the infectious disease and healthcare sectors.

In response, the MIKTA member countries’ foreign affairs and health SOM representatives highly evaluated MIKTA’s ongoing message of solidarity among middle powers to strengthen multilateral cooperation amid the COVID-19 crisis this year. They reached consensus to use this meeting as an opportunity to enhance international cooperation in health security through close communication and cooperation among the foreign affairs and health authorities of the five countries.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed, “This meeting served as an opportunity to establish a foundation for strengthening health security cooperation through linkage between foreign affairs and health authorities of middle powers representing diverse regions, amid the surge in demand for international health cooperation due to the prolonged global health crisis.”