Statement by H.E. Cho Tae-yul Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea The Second G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Statement by H.E. Cho Tae-yul

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea

The Second G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting

New York, September 25, 2024

(As delivered)

Thank you, Mauro.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the Brazilian Presidency for its outstanding leadership in convening this important meeting on global governance at the very heart of the UN headquarter.

For many years, the G20 has served as a frontrunner of multilateralism, complementing and strengthening the wider multilateral framework established by the United Nations. By bringing together the world's major economies, developed and developing alike, the G20 has addressed pressing global challenges and reinforced the values that underpin the United Nations.

Yet, today, we find the entire international architecture of multilateralism under immense pressure. Amidst the paralysis caused by geopolitical divisions, the world is lagging behind in the progress needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. It is against this backdrop this meeting serves as a rallying point for all who believe in multilateralism.

As we seek to overhaul and modernize our global governance system, I offer that the members of the G20 lead the way in restoring multilateralism

by tackling three priority areas.

First, a key priority is to revitalize the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and restore UN's capacity to effectively maintain global peace and security.

Recent events have exposed the limits of the Council in taking decisive actions in response to grave violations of international law as we have seen in the war in Ukraine and the situation in Gaza.

The Council's inability to renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts monitoring compliance with UN sanctions against North Korea further underscores this challenge.

Taking the Security Council back to normalcy to be the respected guarantor of international peace and security should be the number one priority.

The Republic of Korea reaffirms its support for the structural reform of the UN Security Council. Expanding the number of non-permanent membership under equitable geographical distribution will contribute to a more democratic, effective, transparent, representative and accountable Council. The compromise proposal of longer-term re-electable seats deserves due attention in this regard.

As preventing conflicts is increasingly important, we should enable a coherent and integrated approach across its peace-building and development efforts, based on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus.

Empowering the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) with an advanced role is also important.

Second, we must step up efforts to reshape the international system to achieve the SDGs.

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) play a crucial role in this endeavor. We must continue working to make the MDBs better, bigger, and more effective.

By endowing the MDBs with an adequate mandate and better financial mobilization options, we can significantly enhance financing mechanisms to maximize progress on the SDG front.

As the Co-Chair of the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group, the Republic of Korea looks forward to finalizing 'G20 MDB roadmap' within this year as a key deliverable under the Brazilian Presidency.

Additionally, a robust multilateral trading system is central to fostering trade as an engine for sustainable growth.

As its core, a fully functional World Trade Organization (WTO) is indispensable, which can only be achieved by bringing necessary reforms to the body based on shared commitments at the MC13.

Moreover, we must strengthen our engagement with the Global South, critical partners in achieving the SDGs. Welcoming the African Union (AU) as a new member to the G20 was a significant step forward, and we strongly support enhancing Africa's representation in global governance.

The Republic of Korea also aims to open a new chapter in its partnership with Africa, building on the achievements of the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit successfully held in Seoul last June with the participation of 48 African countries including 34 leaders.

Third, we must work together to ensure that the global governance is fit for purpose to tackle new challenges such as artificial intelligence (AI). There is a growing consensus on the need to harness emerging technologies to fully realize their transformative potential and opportunities.

At the AI Seoul Summit last May, leaders collectively identified safety, innovation and inclusivity as three common priorities for global governance of commercial AI.

The 2nd Summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain held in Seoul just a few weeks ago also laid the groundwork for norms for military AI.

Building upon this foundation, we look forward to engaging in more fruitful discussions within and beyond the G20 to ensure AI technology that serves humanity.

Excellencies,

International cooperation is essential to managing geo-economic fragmentation, reinvigorating trade, and maximizing the potential of new technologies.

When its Members can truly reach a consensus to take actions, the G20 will be able to generate powerful impetus for shaping a better and more effective global governance.

Thank you. /END/

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