During his visit to Jordan, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited the Zaatari refugee camp operated by the UNHCR -- the UN Refugee Agency -- on December 19 to offer encouragement to Syrian refugees and to relay the willingness of the government of the Republic of Korea to assist them.

During his visit to the camp, Minister Yun delivered some one million US dollars in humanitarian assistance. Out of the fund, 900,000 US dollars will be used to buy 300 caravans, -- container houses -- with the rest to be channeled into improving school facilities on the camp.

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   ■ Meeting with His Jordanian Counterpart Nasser Judeh

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, who is on a visit to Jordan as part of his Middle East tour, met with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh on December 20. In the meeting, the two Ministers discussed the way forward for the relations between the Republic of Korea and Jordan in various fields and exchanged in-depth views on situations in different regions of the world, including the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.

◦ Minister Yun also attended the working dinner hosted by the Jordanian Minister on December 19.

The two Ministers noted with appreciation the steady advances in the bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1962. In particular, they welcomed that institutional foundations are being laid for increased people-to-people and material exchanges between the two countries, including through the recent signing of the bilateral Agreement for Air Services between and beyond their Respective Territories and the compromise reached on the text of the bilateral agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports. They agreed to seek specific ways to boost people-to-people exchanges in such fields as education and tourism.

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   ■ Attending the 11th ROK-Middle East Cooperation Forum

The eleventh Republic of Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum took place in Amman, Jordan, on December 21, co-hosted by the Jeju Peace Institute, the Korea-Arab Society and the Arab Thought Forum.

At the forum, Minister Yun delivered a keynote speech entitled “The Middle East in Transition and Korea’s Foreign Policy toward the Middle East.” In the speech, he mentioned that in the interconnected world, what takes place in the Middle East in transition immediately impacts the ROK’s daily lives in many different ways, including in economy, national security and the safety of its people.

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☞Full Text of the Speech

2. Visit to Palestine

   ■ Meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah of Palestine on December 21 to exchange views on key issues between the Republic of Korea and Palestine and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

◦ After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Minister Yun visited the ROK’s Representative Office in Palestine and offered encouragement to its head Park Woong-chul and the other staffers, who had started work as resident members at the Office in August.

With regard to the relations between the ROK and Palestine, Minister Yun and Prime Minister Hamdallah noted with appreciation that the ROK’s Representative Office, opened in Palestine in August, is symbolic of the growing bilateral relations and serves as a significant institutional foundation for their further advances. The two sides agreed to move their bilateral ties further forward through the Office.

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3. Visit to Israel

After visiting Jordan and Palestine on his trip to the Middle East, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited Israel on December 22. He met with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman and discussed ways to expand cooperation between the two countries in a range of areas.

The two Ministers took note that both the ROK and Israel have achieved democracy and economic development, overcoming difficult conditions of security threats and lack of resources. Noting that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have continued to deepen since the establishment of diplomatic relations, they agreed to take the bilateral relationship one step further to keep up with the times.

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4. Visit to Saudi Arabia

   ■ Attending the 17th Meeting of the ROK-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, who is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, the last leg of his Middle East tour, attended in his capacity as head delegate of the Republic of Korea the 17th meeting of the ROK-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee and signed a record of discussions on December 22.

◦ It marked the first time that an ROK Foreign Minister has attended a meeting of the ROK-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee as head delegate. His Saudi counterpart in the meeting was Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed al-Jasser.

In his keynote speech at the meeting, Minister Yun noted that the meeting was very timely and meaningful in that it came after the bilateral business forum held in Seoul and the bilateral summit talks held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brisbane, and ahead of the ROK President's visit to Saudi Arabia in 2015.

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   ■ Meeting with His Saudi Counterpart Saud al-Faisal

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal on December 23. In the meeting, the two Ministers exchanged views on the need for the Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia to upgrade their relations to strategic and multi-faceted cooperative ties; issues concerning bilateral cooperation; and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

The two Ministers took note of the best-ever ties between the two countries that had marked their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2012. In particular, they noted with appreciation that the two have lately been seeing their relations further expanded and diversified into new areas as well as high-level exchanges become more active.

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* Source: http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/ (ROK Foreign Ministry's Website)