PH and ROK Hold Senior Officials Videocon Meeting

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Junever Mahilum-West (right) joins Deputy Minister (Political Affairs) Gunn Kim in expressing the Philippines’ appreciation to all health workers engaged in managing the COVID-19 through a Korean gesture of appreciation during the Philippines - Republic of Korea Senior Officials Video Conference on 7 May 2020.

PASAY CITY 07 May 2020 – Newly-appointed ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Senior Official for the Republic of Korea (ROK), Deputy Minister (Political Affairs) Gunn Kim, held a videoconference with Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs and ASEAN-Philippines Temporary Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) Leader of the Philippines Junever Mahilum-West to discuss bilateral and regional efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the videoconference, Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West expressed appreciation for ROK’s contribution to the Philippines’ fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which include the allocation of 950 metric tons of rice under the APT Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and its donation of US$500,000 (approximately PHP 25.4 million) worth of COVID-19 test kits. Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West also cited ROK’s experience as a regional model for successfully managing the pandemic.

For his part, Deputy Minister Kim expressed confidence in the Philippines’ capacity to cope with the pandemic through its enhanced community quarantine and other mitigating measures, and thanked the Philippine government for its assistance in repatriating Koreans from the Philippines. Deputy Minister Kim also shared ROK’s success in stabilizing the spread of the virus and subsequent lifting of travel and quarantine restrictions.

Both officials agreed that the unprecedented situation posed by the pandemic calls for heightened cooperation among APT countries, including through the recently established ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund. Deputy Minister Kim also emphasized the importance of prioritizing the health and economic wellbeing of citizens as part of the recovery efforts to revitalize the regional economies.

Both SOM Leaders expressed their hope for the early re-establishment of the active people-to-people exchanges between the Republic of Korea and the Philippines. END