The Diplomat
The profoundly economic nature of the state visit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in was particularly evident on the second day, which began in Madrid with a bilateral business forum attended by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and concluded in Barcelona with the inaugural dinner of the annual meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, in which the King participated and focused on economic recovery after the coronavirus.
Moon began last Tuesday the first state visit to Spain since the beginning of the pandemic and the first of a South Korean leader to our country for fourteen years. The State visit, which will conclude today, takes place within the framework of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which was celebrated in 2020.
After the Official Dinner offered on Tuesday by the King and Queen of Spain to the President of the Republic of Korea and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, yesterday began with a floral offering in front of the Monument to the Fallen for Spain in the Plaza de la Lealtad, in Madrid, and continued with the inauguration of the Spain-Korea Digitalization and Sustainability Business Forum, held at the headquarters of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and focused on opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the green and digital economy.
During the event, Pedro Sánchez asked South Korea to “accompany” Spain in the “economic transformation” envisaged by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, approved yesterday by the European Commission, and Moon Jae-in affirmed that this “is the time to open a future of opportunities between Korea and Spain”. Organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, ICEX, CEOE, Kotra (Korean Government Trade Office) and KCCI (Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry), the meeting focused on cooperation, business and investment opportunities in green economy, research and digitalization and was attended by fourteen leading Spanish and Korean companies, including Iberdrola, Siemens Gamesa, Befesa, Ocean Winds, EDPR, LG Energy Solution, Hanwha Solution, GS Energy, Indra, Telefónica, Técnicas Reunidas, Samsung Engineering, Douzone Bizon, and Charzin.
“Korea is a strategic country for Spain”, since it is “our third trading partner in the Asian market after China and Japan, where the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Korea has served to boost bilateral trade in the last decade”, said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, at the same event. Likewise, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Moon Sung-wook, also highlighted “the willingness to cooperate, especially in the renewable energy sector so that it can later be extended to other areas such as transport”.
For his part, José Luis Bonet, president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, affirmed that “competitiveness” of Spain “necessarily” involves “strengthening the foreign activity of companies and doing so with countries like Korea that offer us enormous opportunities for the future”, while Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE, stressed that “Korea is a priority country for Spain and its companies on the Asian continent”, despite which “bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries, although growing, are below their potential”.
After the business forum, Pedro Sánchez received Moon Jae-in at the Moncloa Palace, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias; and the Minister of Science and Innovation, Pedro Duque. Later, the Minister of Foreign Affairs offered a working lunch to her South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, at the ministerial headquarters of the Palacio de Viana.
During their meeting, Sánchez and Moon discussed bilateral relations, especially in the economic, trade and investment fields, and presided over the signing of several Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between the two countries. Specifically, Spain and the Republic of Korea approved a Joint Declaration for a Strategic Partnership in areas such as politics and diplomacy, multilateral cooperation, science, technology and innovation, peace and international security, economy, culture, education, sports and tourism. In this framework, the two governments signed two collaboration agreements on customs and on health and medical cooperation and five Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on SMEs, startups and innovation; industry 4.0, cooperation on clean energy and promotion of tourism between the two countries, and renewed the MOU between the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (Spanish CDTI) and the Korea Institute for Energy Technology Assessment and Planning.
The Cercle d’Economia
After these meetings, the South Korean leader traveled with the King to preside over the inaugural dinner of the 36th annual meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, which began yesterday and will conclude tomorrow under the title The Great Reconstruction. Challenges and opportunities for business, the economy and politics.
During the ceremony, the King affirmed that “the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Spain are among the most developed countries in the world, with diversified economies, open to the exterior and with a business fabric of international reference in numerous sectors”. He also stressed that the two countries “have chosen to overcome this crisis by promoting the green economy and digitalization” and assured that “Spain and Korea have international reference companies in both fields, firms that will be able to cooperate not only through trade but also through multiple investment opportunities.” “In addition, Korean companies can find in Spain an ideal platform to access the EU market, as well as the Ibero-American market due to the close ties in all areas and the presence of our companies”. he added.
This year’s conference focuses on the scenario that is opening up for the Spanish economy and politics once the coronavirus crisis has been overcome. This year’s edition, attended by leading politicians and businessmen and with the collaboration of the Barcelona City Council, has not been free from the everlasting political controversy, after the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, decided not to attend the opening dinner in order not to coincide with the King, despite the importance of this event for the interests of Spanish companies, including Catalan ones. In declarations to Onda Cero, Arancha González Laya yesterday played down the importance of this rebuff to the Head of State: “I am left with the fact that the Catalan institutions will be represented at this event”.
