1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 6th Republic of Korea-European Union policy consultation on development cooperation in Brussels on September 7. The delegations of the ROK and the EU to the meeting were led by Director-General for Development Cooperation Oh Hyun-joo of the Foreign Ministry and Director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development Felix Fernandez-shaw, respectively.

o The Foreign Ministry has held the director-general-level policy consultation on development cooperation with the EU since 2008 to share their policy priorities in the changing landscape of international development cooperation, and to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the area.

※ ROK-EU policy consultations on development cooperation held so far

- 1st (June 2, 2008, Seoul), 2nd (June 26, 2012, Brussels), 3rd (March 18, 2014, Seoul), 4th (April 6, 2016, Brussels), 5th (June 21, 2017, Seoul), and 6th (September 7, 2018, Brussels)

2. In the 6th policy consultation, the two sides exchanged views on the progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), humanitarian aid policies, and ways to work together with the private sector in achieving the SDGs. Drawing upon the results of the discussion, they also discussed concrete ways the ROK and the EU can cooperate, including joint cooperation projects.

※ The Sustainable Development Goals are an agenda adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. They consist of 17 goals and 169 targets which UN member states aim to achieve by 2030.

3. In the consultation, the two sides especially shared the view that cooperation with the private sector is essential to achieve the SDGs, and discussed concrete ways to increase cooperation in the area.

o The ROK side informed the EU side of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)’s Creative Technology Solution (CTS), which utilizes the private sector’s innovative initiatives to solve social and economic problems in developing countries, and consulted on concrete ways to work together with the EU.

4. Furthermore, the two sides exchanged views on the current situation of humanitarian assistance to North Korea, and the way forward, and agreed to continue consultations between the ROK and the EU to prepare for a situation where the international community’s humanitarian assistance to North Korea increases, and conditions are created for discussions on development cooperation in North Korea.

5. Cooperation with the EU, which leads discussions on major development agendas as the biggest donor of international aid, providing more than 50 percent, is expected to become a useful reference in devising the ROK’s policies for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

※ Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the EU and its member states (about €76.7 billion) constituted 57% of global ODA in 2017.

-  The EU’s ODA/GNI (gross national income) ratio is 0.50%, and its ODA has increased by 12% (about €7.8 billion) since 2015.

※ The Foreign Ministry has held policy consultations on development cooperation with about 10 major donor countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

* unofficial translation