The Secretary-General met with Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-Ahn of the Republic of Korea on the margins of the 11th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.

The Secretary-General commended the Prime Minister for his strong leadership at the World Humanitarian Summit earlier this week and the major commitments made by the Government of the Republic of Korea at the summit. 

The Secretary-General emphasized the critical shortage of support from donor countries and expressed his hope that the Republic of Korea would continue to demonstrate its leadership in this regard as the only country in the world that has transformed from an aid-receiving country to an aid-giving OECD country.

He stated that the countries in need around the world have high expectations of the leadership role that the Republic of Korea plays, including in sharing its development experience and know-how, such as the Saemaul Village Movement.

The Secretary-General thanked the Republic of Korea for joining the 22 countries, which volunteered to be part of the upcoming high-level Sustainable Development Goals implementation.

He noted the Government's signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and asked the government take prompt action to become a Party to the Agreement, before the end of this year.

The Secretary-General thanked the Government's strong support to the establishment and running of the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul. He highlighted the critical importance of protecting the rights of migrants and foreign laborers. The Secretary-General also stated that the rights of people of all sexual orientations must receive full equal protection, and that their dignity must be respected. 

The Secretary-General recognized the National Assembly's adoption of a counter-terrorism legislation as a significant achievement and urged the Government to focus on prevention as an equally important goal as countering of violent extremism.