Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun called Friday for joint efforts with Canada to firm up bilateral cooperation in strengthening multilateralism, developing new technologies and promoting lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Choi laid out a vision to expand cooperation with Canada in the post-COVID 19 era, during his congratulatory speech at the 17th Korea-Canada Forum, an annual forum aimed at advancing policy dialogue for closer engagement between the two countries.

"Vice Foreign Minister Choi put forward ways for South Korea-Canada cooperation, such as leading international cooperation to strengthen the multilateralism-based order and cooperating in the fourth industrial revolution and in the efforts for the denuclearization and establishment of enduring peace on the peninsula," the foreign ministry said in a press release.

Choi also pointed out that bilateral cooperation has been deepening based on the two countries' free trade agreement and close communication between their top officials over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marta Morgan pledged that Canada, a longtime friendly country for South Korea and a Pacific nation, will continue to contribute to the efforts to foster peace and stability on the peninsula, according to the ministry.

The video-linked forum was organized by the Seoul Forum for International Affairs and the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.

It was attended by former Korean Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo; Kim Myung-ja, president of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs; former Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Leonard Edwards; and Sen. Yonah Martin. (Yonhap)