1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 9th Korea-EU Policy Consultation on Development Cooperation in Seoul on Wednesday, March 20. Mr. Won Doyeon, Director-General of the Development Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Jean-Louis Ville, Deputy Director-General for International Partnerships (Acting Director-General for Asia-Pacific), attended the meeting as chief representatives from Korea and the EU, respectively.

2. During this policy consultation, Korea and the EU shared their respective policy directions for development cooperation and exchanged views on ways for bilateral collaboration in the Asia-Pacific as well as in addressing global issues, including humanitarian assistance and reconstruction support to Ukraine, climate and energy crises, and digital transition.

3. Korea and the EU drew the common understanding that as development cooperation partners with shared universal values, they must overcome crises of the international community caused by conflicts and climate change, and keep up the momentum for sustainable development. They engaged in in-depth discussions on ways for cooperation, particularly in humanitarian aid and disaster response.

4. In particular, Korea and the EU agreed to further enhance cooperation to foster synergy in development cooperation within ASEAN. Building upon the working-level discussions held since the 8th Policy Consultation in February of last year, they resolved to identify and implement concrete Korea-EU capacity-building projects in Cambodia and Viet Nam. Additionally, they committed to working further together in a larger number of ASEAN member states and sectors.

5. The EU side highly noted that Korea's expanded official development assistance (ODA) budget under its strategy to serve as a Global Pivotal State would contribute to global development cooperation; updated the Korean side on its development cooperation policies under its “Global Gateway” strategy; emphasized the importance of continued discussions on humanitarian assistance to and post-war reconstruction efforts in Ukraine; and shared EU policies, such as the European Green Deal and a value-based and human-centered approach in the digital field.

6. The Korean side spoke of the priorities in its ODA policy -- bridging the digital divide, enhancing capacities of young generations, and addressing climate change; reaffirmed its commitment to expanding ODA budgets and strengthening execution management to realize its vision to serve as a Global Pivotal State and to make contributions commensurate with its national standing; and particularly conveyed its intentions to significantly increase its budget for humanitarian assistance and support for conflict-prone countries and to expand contributions to multilateralism, including the UN development system.

7. This round of policy consultation is seen to have served as an opportunity to further crystallize ways for cooperation with the EU in development within ASEAN through a nexus between Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the EU's strategy towards ASEAN. It also served as a catalyst for enhancing strategic cooperation with the EU, Korea’s partner with shared universal values.