Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

□ In the afternoon of July 10th, Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo held a conference call with India Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, in which the two ministers exchanged views on the current COVID-19 situation and their response to the pandemic, and discussed current defense industry matters, as well as exchange and cooperation activities.

   * Defence Minister Singh visited the ROK last September to take part in the Bilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting and to address the keynote speech for the Seoul Defense Dialogue 2019(SDD). On February 2020, Minister Jeong officially visited India on the request of Minister Singh to participate in the Bilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting and India's Defence Expo 2020.

 □ Minister Jeong and Minister Singh assessed that the two countries have developed close relations in a variety of areas including political, economic, social, and cultural fields based on the 'Special Strategic Partnership', and the two ministers agreed to maintain and enhance the momentum of the defense and defense industry cooperation while overcoming the current COVID-19 situation.

   ◦ Meanwhile, Minister Jeong requested Minister Singh to share India's peacekeeping experience and know-hows as the 4th largest UN PKO contributor by attending next year's UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference, which will be hosted in Seoul in April. To this, Minister Singh accepted the invitation and expressed his active support for the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference 2021.

 □ Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, Minister Jeong stated that he will never forget the sacrifice and the dedication of the Indian Armed Forces, which has deployed the largest medical support unit and provided medical duties to injured ROK troops and citizens.

   ◦ The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs(MPVA) named Lieutenant Colonel Rangaraj, the commander of the 60 Para Field Ambulance, as the Korean War hero of the month, and will present a commemorative plaque to the bereaved.

 □ Minister Singh expressed that India will always be proud of its participation in the Korean War in the effort to protect democracy and freedom. The Minister also expressed his gratitude to the ROK government for donating face masks to the Indian war veterans.

   ◦ Minister Singh also highly acclaimed the ROK government's successful endeavor in the prevention and control of the spread of COVID-19 based on the 3Ts(Testing, Tracing, Treating).

 □ While hoping for the early resolution of India's COVID-19 situation, Minister Jeong explained Korea's response against COVID-19 and the ROK Armed Forces' active role in support of the whole-of-government response, and expressed that the ROK will actively share our experiences and know-hows with India.

 □ Minister Jeong and Minister Singh shared a mutual understanding that non-traditional security threats like diseases and cyber threats can not be overcome by a single country, but only through solidarity and cooperation within the international community, and in order to achieve this goal, agreed to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation.