Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan held a meeting on December 16 with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith who made an official visit to Korea on December 15-16.

The two ministers noted with satisfaction that their countries have seen smooth progress this year in cooperation in diplomacy, national defense, security and other diverse fields according to the Action Plan accompanying the Joint Statement on Enhanced Global and Security Cooperation adopted during President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit to Australia last March. They then agreed on a revised Action Plan reflecting the advances made to date.

 

Noting that Korea-Australia FTA negotiations are moving forward favorably, Minister Yu stressed that a balanced consideration should be given to sensitive sectors and issues of interest of the two countries in future negotiations to promptly draw mutually-beneficial negotiation results.

Minister Yu highly recognized close cooperation between the two countries to solidify the G20 at its three summit meetings. He then called for further closer cooperation in agenda-setting and other preparatory processes ahead of next year’s G20 summit in Seoul. Minister Smith showed consent, saying that G20 summit meetings are vital for not only promoting global economic cooperation but also strengthening cooperation between Korea and Australia.

After the meeting, the two ministers signed an MOU on development cooperation between the Foreign Ministry and the AusAID, the Australian government agency overseeing Australia's overseas aid program. Under the MOU, consultations will be held to seek ways for cooperation in fields of common interest such as the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals through Korea-Australia high-level meetings and policy dialogue on development cooperation, improved aid effectiveness and humanitarian assistance.