By Publisher Lee Jon-young, Reporter Kayla Lee

On the afternoon of May 28, President Yoon Suk yul met with President Taneti Maamau of Kiribati, Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni of Tonga, Prime Minister Kausea Natano of Tuvalu, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau of Vanuatu, and Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea, who are visiting Korea for the 2023 Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit.

▲ President Yoon Suk yul attends the first session of the Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit on May 29 (Photo by the Office of the President)

The President welcomed the heads of state and government of the Pacific Island Countries to Korea for the 2023 Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit, which elevated the channel of dialogue between Korea and the Pacific Island Countries to the summit level. The leaders of the five countries participating in today's bilateral meeting expressed their gratitude for the President's leadership in organizing the historic ASEAN-Korea Summit and opening the door for dialogue between the leaders.

During his meetings with each country, the President reviewed the current status of bilateral cooperation with each of the Pacific Islander countries, which have been friends for more than half a century, and proposed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of interest to the Pacific Islanders, such as development cooperation, climate change response, maritime and fisheries cooperation, and health infrastructure development. The leaders said they were encouraged by the Republic of Korea's interest in and support for the Pacific Islands as it expands its ODA contributions.

The President suggested that we build on the commonalities between the Indo-Pacific Strategy for Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity, which the Korean government announced late last year, and the Pacific Island Countries' Strategy for a Blue Pacific 2050, to materialize cooperation projects tailored to the unique characteristics of the two countries. In particular, the President said that the Republic of Korea seeks to build a just and trust-based relationship with the Pacific Island Countries as a country that values freedom and the rule of law.

At today's summit, the leaders of the Pacific island nations said that the remarkable success of the Republic of Korea is an inspiration for their own development plans, and they hope to expand the quality and quantity of cooperation in all areas, including development cooperation.

President Yoon emphasized the great potential for cooperation in the fisheries sector as Kiribati is our largest pelagic fishing ground in terms of landings among Pacific Island countries, and requested Kiribati's support for the safe and smooth operation of our fishing vessels. President Maamau expressed his desire to receive Korea's economic development know-how (knowledge sharing, capacity building, etc.) and hoped to expand cooperation with Korea in the fields of marine fisheries (specialized development of fishing villages) and healthcare (KOICA's ODA).

President Yoon noted that Tonga, which was the first Pacific Island nation to establish diplomatic relations with Korea in 1970, was the first link between Korea and the Pacific Island nations and has since built a strong cooperative relationship. He also noted that Prime Minister Sobaleni's swift and effective response to the massive undersea volcanic eruption in January last year saved the lives of 24 Korean nationals and enabled Tonga to recover quickly. Prime Minister Sobaleni said that thanks to Korea's support, the reconstruction project is progressing smoothly. He also said that Korea and Tonga have achieved a lot in the field of development cooperation, and he hopes to expand cooperation in the fields of digital, drinking water, and capacity building of government officials in the seawater sector.

President Yoon praised Prime Minister Natano's efforts in raising awareness and alerting the international community to the reality of Pacific island nations facing existential threats from climate change (two of Tuvalu's nine islands have already sunk due to rising sea levels) on the sidelines of several international conferences, and said South Korea will lead the way in efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Natano said he hopes to cooperate with South Korea, especially in the areas of improving telecommunications equipment, combating climate change (hydrogen extraction), and marine fisheries (decarbonized shipping).

President Yoon praised the international leadership shown by Prime Minister Kalsakau, including his leadership of the UN General Assembly resolution (March 2023) seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states' obligations to address climate change, and pledged to strengthen cooperation in the areas of climate change and development cooperation.

Prime Minister Kalsakau expressed his gratitude for the various support provided by the Korean government, including humanitarian assistance for the cyclone victims in March and power supply projects, and requested that Korea play a leading role in various port development projects planned by Vanuatu.

President Yoon appreciated that PNG, with a population of about 10 million, is a gateway country in the Pacific region, and that the two countries are actively engaged in people-to-people exchanges and economic trade, and called on Papua New Guinea to work together with Korea for the common prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region as a leader in the region.

The President also expressed his appreciation for PNG's support for the Busan Expo bid. Prime Minister Marape said that Korea is a role model for Papua New Guinea's development and looks forward to further cooperation.

In particular, he said that bilateral trade volume (USD 1.8 billion) increased 2.4 times last year, and that PNG, which is rich in natural resources (oil, gold, gas, etc.), strongly hopes for investment and entry of world-class Korean manufacturing companies. In addition, Prime Minister Marape's request to reopen the KOICA office in Port Moresby, PNG, was met with a response from the President, who said that he would consider it given the importance of PNG.