Within the framework of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) being held in Busan, South Korea, Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie held an important bilateral meeting with his counterpart from the host country, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kang Kyung-wha.
For almost an hour, Faurie and his South Korean counterpart discussed the progress made in negotiations and exploratory dialogue towards an economic agreement between Mercosur and the Republic of Korea, as ratified at the last Summit of the regional bloc held in the city of Mendoza.
As regards the bilateral agenda, the South Korean Minister highlighted the growth of the Argentine economy and expressed her interest in participating in investments in infrastructure works (such as the construction of the Agua Negra Tunnel, among others), in addition to mentioning that companies like SAMSUNG are already investing in our country.
Faurie, for his part, underscored the valuable contribution of the Korean community in Argentina's recent history, and expressed his gratitude for the organization of the FEALAC meeting, a major forum to strengthen the bonds with several East Asian countries.
The Foreign Ministers highlighted the positive outcome of the Ministry of Agro-industry's recent mission to Seoul, during which a memorandum of understanding was signed between the health authorities of both countries.
The Argentine Foreign Minister underscored Korea's role in technological innovation, and stated that our country wishes to enlist Korea's support on digitalization matters during Argentina's G20 Presidency.
As regards the WTO and the Ministerial Conference to be held in Buenos Aires at the end of this year, Minister Faurie noted the need for multilateralism to evolve positively and establish clear rules. He also thanked Korea's support for Argentina's OECD membership bid.
The head of Argentine diplomacy reiterated our country's solidarity towards the Republic of Korea as regards the actions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the last few months. In that regard, he stated that Argentina has systematically condemned the nuclear and missile tests conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which violate the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, generate instability in the region and represent a threat to international security.
In addition, it is worth highlighting the traditional and excellent cooperation between the Antarctic programmes of both countries, based on the proximity between the Carlini and King Sejong Stations, both located on King George Island, and consolidated with the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Directorate for the Antarctic and the Korean Polar Research Institute last May.
Argentina and the Republic of Korea established diplomatic relations on 15 February 1962, during President Arturo Frondizi's administration. The first Korean immigrants arrived in Argentina around the year 1965.
Press release No. 360/17
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