보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Korea and WHO to Hold Discussions

on Strengthening Strategic Health Cooperation

- Korea and WHO discuss global health agenda to strengthen the strategic partnership -

- High-level Korea-WHO policy dialogue resumes after five years, with participation from MOHW, MOFA, MFDS, and KDCA to address key global health issues -

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, Minister Cho KyooHong) announced today that the 2nd High-Level Korea-WHO Policy Dialogue will be held in Seoul over two days, from Wednesday, August 28, to Thursday, August 29.

During this 2nd Policy Dialogue, discussions will cover the experiences of cooperation between Korea and the World Health Organization (WHO), WHO's medium- and long-term strategic plan, the 14th General Programme of Work* (GPW), and ways to strengthen mutual collaboration. The Korean delegation, headed by Kim Hye-jin, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the MOHW, will include representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), who will participate in discussions relevant to their respective areas. High-level WHO officials, including Dr. Catharina Boehme, Assistant Director-General of External Relations and Governance, and Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General of the Universal Health Coverage and Life Course Division, will visit Korea to take part in the policy dialogue.

Kim Hye-jin, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the MOHW, emphasized, "We look forward to rebuilding the foundation of the strategic partnership between Korea and the WHO by resuming the policy dialogue that had been suspended due to COVID-19. The Korean government is committed to ongoing collaboration with the WHO to lead the global response to health issues, in line with Korea's elevated international standing."

For reference, the WHO regularly holds policy dialogues to strengthen cooperation with key partner countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Korea, an emerging key partner, held its first policy dialogue with the WHO in 2019. The policy dialogue, which had been suspended due to the spread of COVID-19, has now been resumed after five years by mutual agreement and is planned to be held annually on a regular basis. ///