1. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Cho Tae-yul co-chaired the 12th Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR Saleumxay Kommasith in Vientiane, the Lao PDR, on July 26.

2. In the 12th Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held for the first time in three years since 2021, participants discussed the achievements, current status and future direction of Mekong-ROK cooperation.

3. Participants highly appreciated that the momentum of Mekong-ROK cooperation has been maintained through the continued implementation of the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund projects and the continued convening of the Mekong-ROK Business Forum, despite the fact that high-level meetings have been put on hold in recent years.

4. Minister Cho emphasized the ROK government's commitment to continuing to support the Mekong region, based on the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, in order to turn the challenges facing the Mekong region into opportunities. He particularly highlighted the ROK government's active contribution to the sustainable development of the Mekong region through Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund. In this regard, he explained that the ROK government's pledge to double its annual contribution to the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund by 2027 compared to 2022 is also being smoothly implemented. In addition, he acknowledged that Mekong-ROK cooperation has been actively progressing in areas directly related to the livelihoods of the local population, including climate change and environment, non-traditional security, and economy.

5. Minister Cho also mentioned that the ROK government has been working to strengthen cooperation with various Mekong-related regional frameworks. He announced that the ROK has completed the process of officially joining the Mekong River Commission as a new development partner.

6. The Mekong side expressed gratitude for the ROK's active contributions to reducing the development gap in the Mekong region and expressed hope that mutually beneficial cooperation between the ROK and the Mekong countries would continue to expand in order to contribute to regional peace and prosperity.

7. On the Myanmar issue, Minister Cho emphasized the importance of halting violence, restoring democracy, and engaging in dialogue among the parties. He reaffirmed the ROK's support for ASEAN's efforts, including the Five-Point Consensus. Minister Cho particularly highlighted that the ROK government has decided to provide $23 million in humanitarian assistance this year, approximately four times the amount of previous years, to assist the people of Myanmar and refugees affected by the situation.

8. Both sides expected that the momentum of Mekong-ROK cooperation would further accelerate as a result of this meeting. Additionally, with the "Mekong-ROK Plan of Action 2021-2025" coming to an end next year, they agreed to work closely together to develop a new action plan for the period after 2025.