The female foreign ministers of nine countries, including South Korea, Spain and Australia, have held a videoconference to discuss gender equality and women's roles in fighting the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Thursday's conversation came amid concerns that women could face tougher economic and social challenges from various repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their family responsibilities and other issues.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her counterparts from eight countries, which also included Sweden, Kenya, El Salvador, Jamaica, Colombia and Indonesia, joined the meeting hosted by Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya.

Kang expressed her concerns over the challenges facing women in the process of battling the pandemic and called for joint efforts by the international community to address those challenges, the ministry said.

In particular, she stressed the importance of encouraging the participation of women in efforts to cope with the public health care crisis and providing humanitarian aid to low-income classes vulnerable to the pandemic.

The participating ministers agreed to continue close communication in enhancing the roles of women and strengthen their capacity to respond to the contagious disease, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)