Deputy Minister Ki Jae: "Strengthening Korea-US Cooperation in Five Key Areas Including Quarantine, Climate Change, and New Deal"

Lee Eok-yeon, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering the opening remarks at the "Korea-US Economic Cooperation Direction International Online Seminar" held on the 21st at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ministry of Strategy and Finance

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government has established a new direction for economic cooperation in relation to the inauguration of the U.S. Biden administration.

Lee Eokwon, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated in his opening remarks at the international online seminar titled "The Inauguration of the Biden Administration and the Direction of Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation," hosted by the Ministry on the 21st, "Considering changes in global conditions and the policy directions of both countries, we plan to develop Korea-U.S. cooperation centered on five key areas." He identified health and quarantine, climate change response, digital and green new deals, advanced technology, and the return to global multilateralism as the main tasks.

Vice Minister Lee further emphasized, "At this critical time, solid cooperation between Korea and the U.S. is essential for the swift overcoming of the COVID-19 crisis, rapid and strong economic recovery, and the prompt restoration of the global multilateral system."

Robert Doner, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in the U.S., presented on the topic "Global Value Chains (GVC): Risks, Security, and Korea-U.S. Cooperation," arguing that close policy coordination among allies including Korea and the U.S. is necessary to enhance the stability and sustainability of global value chains.

David Dollar, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, in his presentation on "Global Value Chains (GVC) and Korea-U.S. Trade Cooperation," mentioned the resilience of global value chains and analyzed that the possibility of a complete decoupling between the U.S. and China is low.

Meanwhile, based on the discussions at the seminar, the Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to prepare a Korea-U.S. economic cooperation strategy and discuss it at the upcoming Foreign Economic Ministers' Meeting next month.