By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) co-hosted a “Korea-Global Fund Procurement Forum” on October 22, 2025, in Seoul.

The annual event was organized to support Korean companies with their entry into the global health procurement market. The forum was attended by lawmaker Park Hong-bae, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kweon Ki-hwan and Executive Director of the Global Fund Peter Sands. Also present were executives and other staff members from major domestic pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies -- most notably, SD Biosensor, Shinpoong Pharm and Bioneer.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Kweon called on the Global Fund to provide more active support for competent and innovative Korean companies so that they can gain entry into its public procurement system. He expressed hope that the Procurement Forum would serve as an arena for sharing best practices and exchanging useful information among leading companies and peers.

Deputy Minister Kweon stressed that Korean companies' participation in the global health procurement market contributes to the international efforts to prevent and eliminate infectious diseases, embodying the Korean government's "pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interest.”

On the same day, Director-General for Development Cooperation at the Foreign Ministry Park Jonghan chaired a separate consultative meeting with domestic biotech and medical companies. The participants discussed how the Ministry can better assist companies in their advance to the global health procurement market. They also shared views on the obstacles companies face in the competitive market and ideas for overcoming them.

On October 23, Deputy Minister Kweon met with Executive Director of the Global Fund Peter Sands in his office. He reaffirmed that the Korean government is committed to sustained cooperation with the Global Fund, given the importance of global health partnership and the Global Fund 's role in it as well as the impact of the Global Fund's support on Korea. He also requested that the Global Fund ensure the most effective use of Korea’s contributions, despite the highly strained and uncertain international development landscape.

Executive Director Sands expressed his deep gratitude for Korea's continued contributions and assured that the Global Fund will pay greater attention to what the Korean government values and prioritizes.

The Global Fund is scheduled to hold one-on-one consultations with Korean pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies on Friday, October 24, to address specific areas of interest of each company and provide tailored advice on these matters.