South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Thursday it held the fifth South Korea-Canada Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation in Seoul over two days from Oct. 29, jointly with Canada's foreign ministry.

The meeting is a regular intergovernmental session under the South Korea-Canada agreement on science, technology and innovation cooperation signed in December 2016. Marking the 10th anniversary of the agreement this year, the two sides reviewed cooperation results and discussed ways to work together in key emerging technologies and future innovation fields.

Hwang Sung-hoon (황성훈), director general for international cooperation at the ministry, attended as the South Korean head delegate. Lakshmi Krishnan (락슈미 크리슈난), vice-president of the National Research Council (NRC), attended as the Canadian head delegate.

On the first day of the committee, the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Canada's NRC signed a memorandum of understanding on science, technology and innovation cooperation. The two institutions agreed to revitalise joint research and expand exchanges of researchers and resources. They also agreed to seek joint research opportunities in advanced technology fields such as quantum technology.

The two countries also shared policies and the status of cooperation in key emerging technologies such as AI, quantum and bio. In AI, they shared South Korea's "three mega projects" and "AI for All" policy and Canada's "AI for All" strategy. They also reviewed ways to expand joint research using AI in areas including Earth observation, climate change and polar research.

In quantum, they shared the status of researcher exchanges and discussed ways to expand cooperation. In bio, they reviewed cooperation potential centred on synthetic biology and biomanufacturing. In research security, they shared related policies and institutional responses and discussed ways to create a trusted environment for international joint research. The ministry also introduced a plan for multilateral joint research to address common challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.

Koo Hyuk-chae (구혁채), first vice minister at the ministry, is scheduled to meet on Thursday with Philip Jennings, deputy minister at Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). The two deputy ministers will discuss AI policy and ways to expand cooperation in quantum technology, and exchange views on building a multilateral research cooperation platform in the Asia-Pacific region.

Koo said, "This year is a meaningful year marking the 10th anniversary of the South Korea-Canada agreement on science, technology and innovation cooperation." He added, "Going forward, based on the strengths and capabilities held by both countries, we will continue to strengthen strategic cooperation in advanced technology fields such as AI and quantum."