Korea hosts MIKTA's first online meeting amid pandemic
National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug presides at the Sixth MIKTA Speakers' Consultation ― held online under the theme “Complex Challenges and Parliamentary Leadership in a Pandemic Era” ― from the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
South Korea hosted the sixth annual meeting of speakers of the parliaments of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) Thursday, held online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Korea assuming the chairmanship this year, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug presided at the Sixth MIKTA Speakers' Consultation ― held under the theme “Complex Challenges and Parliamentary Leadership in a Pandemic Era” ― from the National Assembly in Seoul.
The meeting consisted of presentations and discussions on the role of parliaments in working together to promote multilateralism and health security, especially focusing on ways to protect the socially weak and alienated amid the pandemic.
The speakers of the parliaments of MIKTA, including Mexican Senate Deputy Speaker Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin, Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani, the abovementioned Park, Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mustafa Sentop and Australian Senate President Sue Lines, vowed to work together to solve the problems of intensifying protectionism, unilateralism and polarization of wealth.
They adopted a joint statement, promising to share quarantine information and carry out equitable distribution of vaccines and therapeutics among the countries by establishing a strong partnership.
They especially vowed to work for the socially and economically weak saying these people have faced further economic crisis due to the pandemic.
“We recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened complex challenges, such as protectionism, unilateralism, xenophobia, discrimination, hunger, food security, education inequality, unemployment, climate change, lack of resources for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a globalization slowdown, accelerating structural changes to the established global order,” the statement said.
“Acknowledging the need for new avenues of cooperation, shared responsibility, and global solidarity to tackle complex challenges in an unprecedented pandemic era and prepare for a better post-COVID-19 era and the significance of parliamentary leadership in the process, we reiterated the critical role of MIKTA in multi-dimensional responses and cooperation at the national, regional and global levels.”
Park said the MIKTA countries, as a collection of middle powers, had a significant role to play.
“To prepare for similar health crises, as well as COVID-19, global health governance centering on the World Health Organization must be improved and strengthened and cooperation between MIKTA member states is necessary,” Park said.
“As MIKTA has decided to work as a bridge between developed and developing countries, as well as between different regions, the MIKTA Speakers' Consultation should support the efforts for the development and equitable distribution of vaccines and therapeutics.”