요약 본문
President Lee Jae-myung met with the foreign ministers of Pacific island countries visiting South Korea for the 6th Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting early today. The meeting was attended by leaders and senior officials from 15 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member countries, including Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Fiji, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia, as well as the PIF Secretary-General.
President Lee appreciated that Korea and the Pacific island countries have maintained a friendly and cooperative relationship for more than half a century. He urged the representatives of the Pacific island countries to continue to support the development of cooperation in numerous fields, including fishing, minerals, and energy. Additionally, he proposed expanding cooperation to overcome the climate crisis and achieve sustainable growth, thereby sharing Korea’s development experiences as a future-oriented partner.
Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi and the Pacific island foreign ministers expressed their gratitude for Korea’s respect for the priorities listed in the ‘2050 Blue Pacific Strategy’ and the support provided through development cooperation across various fields. Both sides looked forward to strengthening partnerships in areas such as climate change, fisheries and ocean industries, and energy transition.
PIF Secretary-General Baron Waqa conveyed his gratitude for South Korea’s support of approximately $4 million to the Korea-PIF Fund this year. He invited President Lee to visit any of the Pacific island countries. President Lee responded warmly, expressing his intention to provide maximum cooperation on climate crisis response and development cooperation, and humorously mentioned thinking carefully about which Pacific island country to visit.