US, RoK discuss promoting ties with ASEAN

Director General for ASEAN and Southeast Asian Affairs of the RoK at the talks (Photo: Yonhap)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the US held virtual talks on May 13 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asian countries based on Seoul's New Southern Policy and Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy.

The RoK’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides discussed how they can work with the 10-nation ASEAN for substantive cooperation in seven areas, including health, infrastructure, smart city, green growth and digital innovation.

With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, they talked about efforts to increase support to help ASEAN countries improve general medical systems to overcome the disease and improve their healthcare services.

Both sides decided to work closely to help businesses discover new opportunities and provide them with financial support for joint infrastructure projects in the region.

In the talks, they also shared assessments and policy directions on the current situations in the bloc.

The meeting is meaningful from looking at it in the frame of expanding the New Southern Policy and also of promoting the alliance and bilateral relations with the US, a ministry official said./.