1. Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit France to attend in his capacity as head delegate of the Republic of Korea government the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s Peer Review meeting on the development cooperation policy of the ROK on December 6. On the sidelines of the OECD meeting, the Vice Minister will meet bilaterally with new UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and Secretary-General Maurice Gourdault-Montagne of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

2. Vice Minister Cho will attend the final round of the OECD DAC’s Peer Review meeting on the ROK at the OECD headquarters in Paris on December 6. In the meeting, the senior diplomat will share with DAC member states achievements made by the country in the field of development cooperation over the past five years and will discuss with those countries the DAC’s recommendations regarding the ROK’s official development assistance (ODA) policy and implementation thereof.

※ The OECD DAC Peer Reviews are conducted to examine whether the member states are drawing up and implementing development cooperation policies in line with the DAC’s recommendations and guidelines and to share with one other model cases in a bid to promote peer learning.

3. The forthcoming Peer Review meeting on the ROK will mark the second of its kind following the first held in 2012, after the country’s accession to the OECD DAC in 2010. The ROK government will take the opportunity to review its achievements and progress in the field of development cooperation and share with DAC member states model cases. It plans to use the outcome of the meeting in furthering its ODA policy and system.

4. During his visit to France, Vice Minister Cho will also meet with new UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on December 6.

° In the first meeting between a senior government official of the ROK and the new UNESCO Secretary-General since the latter’s inauguration on November 15, Vice Minister Cho will relay the ROK government’s commitment to cooperate on the reform and development efforts of UNESCO, which is currently facing multiple challenges. Accordingly, the meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity to take the ROK-UNESCO cooperative ties a notch higher.

5. Later in the day, Vice Minister Cho will meet bilaterally with Secretary-General Maurice Gourdault-Montagne of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, during which the two senior diplomats will extensively discuss ways to promote the ROK-France relations, and to work together in responding to the North Korean nuclear issue and on global challenges.

※ On his way to France, the Vice Minister will visit Serbia from December 3 till 5 for a discussion on ways that the ROK and Serbia can work more closely together.


* unofficial translation