Southwest Asia and Pacific

Information on Countries and Other Areas
1. Afghanistan
2. Australia
3. Bangladesh
4. Bhutan
5. Cook Islands
6. Fiji
7. India
8. Kiribati
9. Maldives
10. Marshall Islands
11. Micronesia
12. Nauru
13. Nepal
14. NewZealand
15. Niue
16. Pakistan
17. Palau
18. Papua New Guinea
19. Samoa
20. Solomon Islands
21. Sri Lanka
22. Tonga
23. Tuvalu
24. Vanuatu
Information on the Region
- South Asia
- Pacific
1. - The ROK-South Asia Relations
    - During the Korean War in 1950, India made its first connection with Korea by dispatching medical support units.
    - After the Korean War, relations between Korea and India remained lukewarm, but in December 1973, they established diplomatic relations.
    - Since the 1990s, the relationship between Korea and India has shifted from the existing political - diplomatic - oriented relationship to more practical-centered relationship in various fields including trade and investment.
    - President Kim Yeong-sam visited India for the first time in 1996 as the president of the Republic of Korea and set up an opportunity to consolidate real cooperation between the two countries.
    - President Roh Moo-hyun paid a state visit to India in 2004, and the leaders of both countries upgraded bilateral relations with 'Long-term Cooperative Partnership for peace and Prosperity.'
    - In 2010, President Lee Myung-bak visited India on a state visit to promote bilateral relations as a 'strategic partnership' and to strengthen cooperation in all aspects of bilateral relations including diplomacy, economy, society and culture.
    - Through the visit of India's Prime Minister Modi in 2015, bilateral relations have been upgraded to 'special strategic partnership' and agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields such as manufacturing, ICT(information and communications technology), infrastructure, science and technology, and cultural exchanges.
  - The ROK-SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Relations
    - SAARC is a regional body designed to strengthen economic, social and cultural exchange cooperation among countries in South Asia. * Member countries are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
    - In 2006, the Republic of Korea joined the SAARC as an observer, with the aim of complementing bilateral relations with the SAARC member states, and strengthening, cooperation with countries in Southwest Asia.
    - In economic perspective, Korea joined the SAARC as an observer with the aim of creating a favorable environment for expansion of trade and securing of resources in Southwest Asia, which emerged as the "second largest market" following China.
    - Since joining SAARC as an observer in 2006, Korea has been promoting relations through activities such as attending high-level members of the SAARC Summit and hosting annual seminars to seek ways to promote cooperation among SAARC.
    - 'ROK- SAARC Partnership Seminar' is held annually in Seoul to seek ways to strengthen cooperation through consultation with the SAARC secretariat staff, SAARC member countries, and their experts.
2. - The ROK-Australia Relations
    - ROK-Australia partnership has developed into a quasi-alliance through Australia’s participation in the Korean War, the 59-year-long diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the ROK-Australia FTA, which took effect in December 2014.
      
      The third Republic of Korea-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministers’ (2+2) Meeting(2017) was held in Seoul, Korea, on October 13, 2017, where regional situations, issues related to the Korean Peninsula, and ways to enhance defence and security cooperation between the two countries were discussed
      
      ROK-Australia share the activities of major regional and global cooperative mechanisms in politics, security, defence and economy where the two countries are participating together, including the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the G20.
      
      In 2018, on the sidelines of the 26th APEC summit, President Moon Jae-in met bilaterally with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia on November 17. In their meeting, the two leaders discussed in depth ways for the Republic of Korea and Australia to coordinate on North Korean issues; the bilateral political and economic ties; ways to step up cooperation on regional and global stages; and ways to strengthen cooperation between the ROK's New Southern Policy and Australia's Indo-Pacific Strategy.
  - The ROK-New Zealand Relations
    - The relationship between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand dates back to the Korean War. During the Korean War, New Zealand dispatched more than 6,000 troops to the Korean Peninsula under the flag of the United nations Forces.
    - The historic relationship between the ROK and New Zealand led to the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1962. Over the last 57 years, the ROK and New Zealand have built close ties of friendship and cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
    - On the occasion of President Roh Moo-Hyun's visit to New Zealand in 2006, diplomatic relations were upgraded to a "Partnership for the 21st Century." The ROK-New Zealand FTA, which was signed in 2015, has continued to strengthen economic relations. In 2018, the trade volume reached approximately 3.1 billion dollars, a 24 percent increase than the previous year. In addition, the number of Korean visitors to New Zealand has almost doubled in the last couple of years, and more than 30 thousand New Zealand nationals now visit Korea each year. The number of people-to-people exchanges has contributed to enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries. Furthermore, the ROK and New Zealand have been working together to address global challenges. Both countries are also in close coordination and cooperation with regard to North Korea's denuclearization as well as the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
    - In 2018, President Moon Jae-In paid a state visit to New Zealand. President Moon and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern agreed to develop more friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. The two leaders also agreed to explore ways to strengthen cooperation between the ROK's New Southern Policy and New Zealand's Pacific Reset.
  - The ROK-Pacific Island Countries Relations
    - Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in the early 1970s, the Republic of Korea has maintained close ties with the Pacific Island countries in various areas including political, economic and development cooperation. Korea’s ODA to the Pacific Island countries, which amounts to 140 million dollars since 1987, has produced favorable outcomes in fields such as climate change, fisheries and healthcare. The 「Republic of Korea-Pacific Islands Forum Cooperation Fund」 is a case in point, which has contributed to fulfilling the substantial needs of the Pacific Island countries and their peoples.
    - The Korean government has participated in the PFD(Post Forum Dialogue) annually since 1995 so as to discuss a better future for the Pacific Island countries. For the first time in history in 2023, the Korea Pacific Islands summit was held in Seoul. Since 2011, Korea has held the Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meetings and Senior Officials’ Meetings. These platforms have significantly been conducive to broadening the horizons of mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two sides. The Korean government will make continued efforts to strengthen and widen cooperative relations with the Pacific Island countries toward a more mutually-beneficial future.

Information on Countries and Other Areas

Information on the Region

The ROK-South Asia Relations

The ROK-SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Relations

The ROK-Australia Relations

The ROK-New Zealand Relations

The ROK-Pacific Island Countries Relations