“Vice Minister Kang Insun held a virtual conversation with Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)”

1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Insun held a  virtual conversation with Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on March 14, 2024, for a comprehensive and in-depth discussion on ways to expand partnership between the Republic of Korea and the U.S. on development cooperation.

2. Both sides emphasized that it is essential to strengthen bilateral coordination in the field of development cooperation for the advancement of the ROK-U.S. Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance. To this end, they agreed to continue identifying and implementing joint development cooperation projects in areas such as transparency and anti-corruption, response to climate change, health and digitalization, in regions of strategic importance including the Indo-Pacific and Africa.

3. Furthermore, the two sides agreed to strengthen collaboration on development cooperation on the ground between the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and USAID, an example of which is the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between KOICA and the USAID India office in February 2024. They also agreed to expand coordination on development cooperation among the ROK, the U.S. and Japan by identifying and carrying out symbolic and practical projects, in addition to concluding the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the KOICA-USAID-JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) health cooperation project in Ghana in July 2023, in efforts to implement the Camp David Agreement reached in August of last year.

4. Vice Minister Kang shared the ROK government’s efforts to carry out diplomacy as a Global Pivotal State that seeks to contribute to the international community including with its recently increased official development assistance (ODA) budget. She went on to suggest using the international summits hosted and to be hosted by the ROK, such as the 3rd Summit for Democracy and the upcoming Korea-Africa Summit, as opportunities for bilateral coordination on development cooperation toward the realization of global values. Administrator Power noted with appreciation the ROK for its commitment to contribute to the international community, adding that USAID will actively cooperate and render support for the success of the international events to be hosted by the ROK government.

5. Both sides also recognized the need for the international community to continue various forms of support to bring an end to the war and restore peace in Ukraine. On that note, they called for close bilateral communication and cooperation throughout the course of providing the country with humanitarian assistance and support on reconstruction and recovery efforts.