Top diplomats of South Korea, Australia to hold talks this week amid Mideast crisis

Seoul, April 27 The top diplomats of South Korea and Australia will hold talks later this week on a range of shared issues, including enhancing defense cooperation and joint efforts to address supply chain instability amid the Middle East crisis, the foreign ministry said Monday.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, for bilateral talks in Seoul on Thursday, the ministry said in a press release.

The two sides are expected to reaffirm their commitments to working together to address common challenges in relation to the current situation in the Middle East and the global energy crisis, the ministry said.

They will also discuss efforts to deepen cooperation in the defence and defence industry sectors, it added.

The meeting will come about a month after the two top diplomats spoke over the phone on March 16, Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier on April 23, South Korea's special envoy to Iran had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran.

Chung

Chung also noted the importance of developing bilateral relations between Seoul and Tehran.

Echoing Chung's remark on their ties, Araghchi had expressed Iran's readiness to cooperate in that regard.

Regarding Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi had defended the measure as an effort to safeguard its national security and interests, saying that "responsibility for any resulting consequences lies with the parties carrying out the aggression," according to the post.

Twenty-six South Korea-related ships and 173 Korean crew members had remain stranded in the vital waterway blocked by both Iran and the United States.

--IANS

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