By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee
While attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul attended the 27th MIKTA (A grouping of Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia)Foreign Ministers' Meeting on February 20 (local time), where he exchanged views with representatives of MIKTA member countries on how to cooperate with MIKTA in the current global situation, and introduced the direction of Korea's activities and priorities as the chair of MIKTA for the next one year.
Minister Cho emphasized that amidst the escalating geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts, it is the “people” who suffer in the midst of it that must not be forgotten, and pointed out that more than 300 million people around the world are currently in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
He emphasized the need for MIKTA to continue to pay attention to and support them as a capable and responsible pan-regional organization, and called on MIKTA member states to work to improve humanitarian conditions, noting with particular concern the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti.
Concerned that Russo-DPRK military cooperation, including the illegal supply and North Korea's deployment of arms, is further exacerbating the situation in Ukraine and prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people, Cho called on the MIKTA members to join together to urge North Korea to cease these provocations and return to dialogue.
In addition, Cho emphasized that even amid today's crisis in multilateralism, MIKTA should build on its 12 years of experience and contribute constructively to the expansion of multilateral cooperation.
To this end, Cho suggested that MIKTA members take the lead in advocating for multilateralism on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations this year, implement concrete cooperation projects to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and explore ways to utilize advanced technology to address pressing global challenges.
He also evaluated the performance of Mexico's MIKTA chairmanship over the past year and expressed his country's commitment to further strengthen cooperation among MIKTA members as the 12th MIKTA chairmanship for one year from February 2025.
In this year, the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and five years before the SDGs are to be achieved, Cho emphasized the need for action-oriented cooperation, and explained that during our chairmanship, we plan to focus on peacebuilding, youth empowerment, and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.
The participating MIKTA foreign ministers agreed that MIKTA, as a pan-regional organization, is a useful platform to drive international cooperation based on multilateralism in an uncertain international environment.
They also expressed grave concern over the humanitarian crises in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere, and agreed on the need to expand humanitarian assistance and redouble our collective efforts to help the international community achieve sustainable peace and prosperity.
They also praised the timely formulation of the Korean government's chairmanship work plan and expressed their interest and willingness to work with Korea to help MIKTA achieve its goals during our chairmanship.
During the meeting, the ministers adopted a Joint Communiqué that emphasized their commitment to responding to international issues, including the Gaza crisis, the war in Ukraine, the situation in Syria, and North Korea, and reaffirmed the core principles of the organization, including the promotion of democracy, international law, and multilateralism.
In particular, in the Joint Communiqué, the MIKTA members expressed grave concern about North Korea's nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile tests, and called on North Korea to comply with all UN Security Council resolutions.
The MIKTA members also noted the international community's efforts to peacefully achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.
The meeting is considered an opportunity to strengthen the institutional foundation of the MIKTA by bringing together foreign ministers of the MIKTA, a pan-regional organization, to effectively send out messages of strengthening multilateralism and discuss concrete ways to enhance cooperation.
Based on the outcomes of the discussions, Korea plans to lead the efforts of MIKTA to strengthen multilateralism and address global challenges as the chair of MIKTA in 2025.
