By Reporter Anna Kim

 
The government held a Public-Private Joint Council for Overseas Emergency Relief, chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, on June 29.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) arrives in Ottawa, Canada, on Nov. 2 (local time) to help fight the wildfires in Canada.

In the meeting, the government decided to dispatch a 151-member KDRT consisting of people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Forest Service, the National Fire Agency, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), as well as medical personnel, and discussed specific plans for the dispatch and ways of cooperation among relevant agencies.

The KDRT will be deployed for about 30 days to help fight the wildfires in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec, Canada.

Foreign Minister Park Jin appreciated the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Korea and Canada, which are longtime friends celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year and share the values of liberal democracy and market economy.

He expressed hope that this dispatch would serve as an opportunity for the bilateral relations to take a step further beyond cooperation in wildfire suppression.

This dispatch of the KDRT marks the second this year, following the one in response to the earthquake in Türkiye in February this year. The Korean government will continue to make contributions to become a Global Pivotal State that contributes to freedom, peace and prosperity.