| President Yoon Suk Yeol attends Session 3 of the Group of 20 Summit at the Bharat Mandapam International Convention Center in New Delhi, Sunday (local time). Joint Press Corps |
President wraps up ASEAN, G20 outing
By Nam Hyun-woo
NEW DELHI ― South Korea will provide an aid package totaling $2.3 billion for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Ukraine ― $300 million offered through international organizations next year and $2 billion in mid-term, low-interest loans from 2025, President Yoon Suk Yeol promised during a speech at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in New Delhi, India, Sunday.
Along with the speech, Yoon held bilateral summits with the leaders of India and a number of other countries during the last day of his trip to Indonesia and India to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the G20 summits. He will be arriving in Seoul early Monday.
"After World War II, the international community has been prohibiting the use of force in international relations as a strict legal principle," Yoon said during his speech at Session 3 of the G20, titled "One Future."
"To safeguard this principle, the war in Ukraine should end and peace should be restored promptly… Through solidarity with the international community, the Republic of Korea will carry out comprehensive support programs entailing security, humanitarian aid and restoration."
Yoon said the support package will begin with the provision of $300 million worth of aid next year through various means, including humanitarian aid, grants for development and providing funds to the World Bank or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The next step will be providing $2 billion through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), which is South Korea's indigenous low-interest loan program for developing countries. The presidential office said details on how to support Ukraine through the EDCF will be announced in 2025.
The pledges were in line with Seoul's commitment to play a pivotal role in the international community to safeguard the rules of order in the world. It was also a follow-up measure to Seoul's promise to support Kyiv's restoration during Yoon's summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July.
Before attending the session, Yoon joined world leaders participating in the G20 and visited Rajghat, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. Yoon and the leaders planted a tree and laid a wreath to pay homage to the late politician.
| President Yoon Suk Yeol talks with U.S. President Joe Biden during a gala dinner of the Group of 20 Summit at the Bharat Mandapam International Convention Center in New Delhi, Saturday (local time). Courtesy of presidential office |
On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Yoon ran into U.S. President Joe Biden three times and shared cordial greetings.
According to Seoul's senior presidential secretary for public relations, Kim Eun-hye, Yoon told Biden during a gala dinner on Saturday that "the trilateral cooperation scheme between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan set up at Camp David last month will make a big contribution to the progress of the Indo-Pacific region and the global community," while the U.S. leader also noted that the three countries' cooperation will have a positive influence on their people.
Yoon also had a brief encounter with Chinese Premier Li Qiang before the tree-planting ceremony and expressed hopes of meeting him again "within this year," apparently referring to a South Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit that Seoul is seeking to hold. The two had a meeting during their previous stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the occasion of ASEAN-related summits.
During the G20 Summit, participating leaders agreed to include the African Union as a new member. Also, they signed a joint declaration detailing their commitments to sustainable growth, combating climate change, green development, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and other international agendas.
Initially, there were concerns that the summit would not be able to produce a joint declaration for the first time due to disagreements over the war in Ukraine. Russia and China were objecting even the language that they had agreed to last year at the G20 summit in Bali.
Instead, the declaration used softened language, describing the situation as "the human suffering and negative added impact of the war in Ukraine," without specifying Russia's invasion. Ukraine was critical of this softening, with its foreign ministry saying the declaration is "nothing to be proud of."
| President Yoon Suk Yeol talks to Chinese Premier Li Qiang before attending a planting ceremony at Rajghat, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated, in New Delhi, Sunday (local time). Joint Press Corps |
With his attendance at the G20 Summit, Yoon wrapped up his trip to Indonesia and India.
At ASEAN-related summits, Yoon focused on his messages of boosting the interest of ASEAN members and Pacific nations to North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats.
He issued a warning against potential military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and urged China to play its part to deter Pyongyang's nuclear programs, noting, "North Korea's nuclear program should not derail Seoul-Beijing ties," during his meeting with the Chinese premier. Yoon also called on the two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to enforce U.N. resolutions on the North.
To ASEAN members, the president promoted the importance of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, and highlighted the bloc's commitment to support ASEAN's regional strategy amid growing tensions between China and Southeast Asian countries.
On the economic front, Yoon held bilateral summits and meetings with more than 20 countries to secure new markets.
During Yoon's trip, South Korea and Indonesia signed 22 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on nuclear power, mobility, electric vehicles and other industrial sectors and signed a free trade agreement with the Philippines.
"The government will make its best efforts to pursue follow-up steps from this visit through economic cooperation channels with involved countries, to assist the exports and on-site operations of Korean businesses," senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok said.