1. On the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis on February 26, and discussed ways to strengthen the relations between the Republic of Korea and Switzerland, and to increase substantive cooperation, as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

2. The two sides said that President Alain Berset’s visit to the ROK during the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games contributed to the success of the Olympics and an improvement in the bilateral relations, and agreed to maintain and increase the momentum for deepening cooperative relations, created following the bilateral summit.

o They especially said that the Swiss President’s visit to the ROK, during which the leaders of the two countries met three times, served as a good opportunity to deepen their ties and friendship.

※ President Alain Berset visited the ROK for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics from February 7 to 11, and attended the opening ceremony on February 9.

- After their summit meeting (February 8), the leaders of the two countries met at the reception hosted by the ROK President (February 9), and watched the women's ice hockey game between the joint Korean team and Switzerland together.

3. Minister Kang welcomed the conclusion of the ROK-Switzerland currency swap agreement on February 20, and said that the two countries are also strengthening mutually-beneficial cooperation in the healthcare and medical sector, including by launching the “committee on the life science initiative” between the two countries in February.

o Minister Cassis said that he is very happy to see the conclusion of the currency swap agreement that benefits both countries, and expressed hope that Switzerland home to many world-class pharmaceutical companies will further step up cooperation with the ROK with innovation capacity in order to take another leap forward in life science.

※ The heads of the central banks of the two countries signed the ROK-Switzerland currency swap agreement (worth US$10.6 billion) in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 20.

※ The committee on the ROK-Switzerland life science initiative (launched in February 2018) is a public-private consultative mechanism for R&D. It aims to develop agendas for cooperation in the healthcare and medical sector between the two countries, put to practical use research results, and provide consulting on ways to make inroads into the two countries.

4. Minister Kang explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and the latest inter-Korean talks, and asked the international community, including Switzerland, for continued interest and cooperation to make sure that the momentum for inter-Korean talks, created during the Olympics, leads to denuclearization talks.

o Minister Cassis agreed on the importance of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and said that Switzerland, which has served as a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission since 1953, hopes to see peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and thus actively supports the ROK government’s North Korea policy.

5. The two Ministers also agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation on the global stage through mutual support regarding elections at international organizations in the areas of security and human rights.

6. This meeting, which marked the first since the Ministers of the two countries took office, is expected to serve as an opportunity to reaffirm close cooperative relations between the two countries in a range of areas, following the bilateral summit held on February 8.

※ Minister Ignazio Cassis was sworn in as Foreign Minister in September 2017.

* unofficial translation