The Diplomat
King Philip VI said yesterday that Spain and South Korea must “work together” so that their economic relations “reach, in all areas, the potential that corresponds to two of the most advanced and dynamic economies in the world”.
The Monarch pronounced these words during the Official Dinner offered to the President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-In, who began yesterday a three-day state visit with his wife, Kim Jung-sook. “I have the pleasure of expressing to you the great satisfaction it gives to the Queen and me to reciprocate today the hospitality you extended to us almost two years ago, when we began in your country the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Spain and Korea”, said the King at the beginning of his speech.
Indeed, Moon Jae-In’s state visit – the first by a South Korean leader to Spain in fourteen years – makes it possible to return the one made by the King and Queen to Seoul in October 2019, on the eve of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Spanish-Korean bilateral relations. The Official Dinner, in which security measures in front of the COVID were strictly respected, was attended by the South Korean First Lady, Queen Letizia, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his wife, María Begoña Gómez; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and her South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong,
According to the King, “the world has been profoundly transformed by the pandemic and its consequences, which unfortunately have caused enormous pain and economic and employment crises in our countries”. “It is, however, in times of hardship and need that true friends are discovered and the feelings that unite our societies are put to the test”, he said. “I want to emphasize, with pride, that in these turbulent times the feeling that has prevailed between our peoples has been none other than solidarity and the will to work together to build a better future”, he added.
Spain and Korea share “fundamental principles and values, democratic institutions, respect for the rule of law, and the protection of human rights”, he continued. “Spain knows that Korea is a solid partner in the most important issues on the global agenda”, because both countries also share “priorities such as international peace and stability, the fight against climate change, humanitarian emergencies, development aid or the battle against terrorism and other security threats“, he added.
These coincidences, the Monarch affirmed, “are not only in the political sphere, but also in the economic sphere”. “Spain and Korea are two economies of similar dimensions, which both started from difficult situations decades ago and which, after many years of effort and work, have managed to occupy a prominent position in the group of the most developed economies”, he continued. “We have consolidated a growing economic presence in the world and our companies are already global economic players, with participation in all sectors, both in the industrial and service sectors”, he added.
Therefore, he said, “the fields open for collaboration between our companies and our societies are very broad”, since “the opportunities within our reach are not limited to trade between the two countries, mutual direct investment or collaboration in third markets”, but include “the possibility of working together to ensure that economic relations between Korea and Spain reach, in all areas, the potential that corresponds to two of the most advanced and dynamic economies in the world”.
For his part, Moon Jae-In recalled that both Spain and South Korea have been able to overcome “the times of authoritarianism and consolidate democracy and economic development”. “The Korean people love Spain”, added the president, who expressed his respect to the King for “leading with excellence” the Spanish people “accompanying them and taking them by the hand in the process of overcoming the coronavirus”.
A visit with a strong economic character
Moon’s state visit will continue today with a meeting with Pedro Sánchez and a meeting with business leaders in Madrid. The day will also include a wreath laying by the Korean President at the Monument to the Fallen for Spain in the Plaza de la Lealtad and a working lunch offered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to his South Korean counterpart at the ministerial headquarters of the Palacio de Viana.
In the evening, the King and the South Korean leader will preside in Barcelona the inaugural dinner of the 36th annual meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, which will focus on the economic recovery after the coronavirus and in which they will meet with some twenty large companies with interests in Spain and South Korea. As expected, Moon’s visit has a strong economic character (Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia and the eleventh largest in the world), especially oriented to the recovery after COVID, and will include the signing of two agreements and five memorandums of understanding on issues such as renewable energy, startups, industrial collaboration or health recovery.
One of these agreements, the cooperation agreement in the field of public health for disease prevention and response, was authorized this past Tuesday by the Council of Ministers. The agreement, whose authorization was intended to coincide with the State visit, had been proposed by the South Korean Embassy last November in response to the close collaboration between the two countries during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included talks at the level of Head of State and Government and Foreign Ministers.
