By Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the ASEAN Summit, held a summit with Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown on Sept. 6.
 

During the meeting, the President exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations and requested the Cook Islands' support for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

The two leaders appreciated that Korea and the Cook Islands are engaging in more active exchanges than ever before, including a bilateral meeting in Jakarta just three months after their meeting in Seoul on the sidelines of the Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit in May.

The two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in the areas of deep seabed resource development and marine fisheries. The President said that the Republic of Korea has decided to significantly increase ODA and the Korea-PIF Cooperation Fund for Pacific Island Countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in responding to common challenges in the region, including climate change and disasters, health and food crises, and the digital divide, and is promoting customized cooperation projects for individual countries.

The two leaders agreed to continue communication to ensure the success of the PIF Summit and Interlocutors' Meeting to be hosted by the Cook Islands as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in November this year.