Postponement of This Year's 'Peacekeeping Ministers Meeting' Due to COVID-19 Impact

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The '2021 UN Peacekeeping Ministers' Meeting' scheduled to be held in Korea this year has been postponed to December 7-8. Originally planned for April this year, the meeting schedule was changed and the location was decided as Seoul after comprehensively considering the domestic and international COVID-19 situation, opinions from the UN Secretariat, and major related countries.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 25th, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Defense Minister Suh Wook jointly chaired the 3rd Preparatory Committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Doryeom-dong, Seoul, and resolved this decision.

In his greeting, Minister Kang said regarding the postponement, "Many UN member states, including the 12 co-chair countries, evaluated our decision to postpone as a wise and prudent measure and promised cooperation for the successful hosting of the Peacekeeping Ministers' Meeting." He also said, "If we successfully hold this meeting, it will enhance the status of the Republic of Korea, which marks its 30th anniversary of UN membership this year."

Minister Suh emphasized, "As a proud middle power, we must fulfill the role of a bridge country between developed and developing countries," adding, "The Peacekeeping Ministers' Meeting will be an excellent opportunity to imprint Korea's capabilities and role for international peace on the global community." He further added, "The peace tour exhibition we are preparing will be a good opportunity to show not only the meeting participants but also our citizens the process and achievements of the Korean Peninsula peace process."

Due to the COVID-19 situation, except for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, and Joint Chiefs of Staff, other related ministries and agencies such as the Office for Government Policy Coordination, National Intelligence Service, and Ministry of Health and Welfare attended the meeting via video conference. The participants reviewed the preparation status, discussed the meeting agenda, commitments, side events, and publicity plans, and agreed to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation.

The UN Peacekeeping Ministers' Meeting is the highest-level meeting body in the UN peacekeeping activities field, launched in 2016 to invite defense and foreign ministers from 154 countries, representatives of international organizations, and civilian experts to identify and review current issues and countries' contribution commitments. The government plans to invite about 1,300 people, including defense and foreign ministers from various countries, representatives of international organizations, and civilian experts, to the meeting in December.