The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 6th policy consultation between the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on November 10 in Seoul, Korea. The ROK and OCHA head delegates to the consultation were Director-General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Won Do-yeon and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya, respectively. During the policy consultation, the two sides discussed possible areas of cooperation to respond more effectively to the complex humanitarian crisis compounded by factors such as climate change and armed conflict. The ROK side explained its growing commitment to humanitarian assistance as a global pivotal state and its willingness to strengthen cooperation with the humanitarian community, including OCHA, to ensure the proper implementation of the ROK’s contributions. The OCHA side stressed the importance of effective assistance at a time when the funding gap for humanitarian assistance is growing, and thanked the ROK for its continued support for OCHA. The two sides exchanged views on current and projected humanitarian situations in crisis areas such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Myanmar, and what is being done to help. The OCHA side expressed gratitude to the ROK for its contributions and explained that donor states such as the ROK played a very important role in meeting global humanitarian needs. It went on to convey special appreciation for the ROK’s contribution to OCHA’s Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund, which came at a time when additional resources were urgently needed for the evacuation of Ukrainians from Mariupol. Being the first in-person meeting of its kind held in three years, the 6th ROK-OCHA policy consultation served as an opportunity to assess the global humanitarian response as well as to strengthen the partnership between the two sides.
