Korea-France summit joint press statement
Two countries aim for $20 billion in trade by 2030
High-level dialogue channel launched for civilian nuclear cooperation
President Lee Jae Myung, on a state visit to France, held a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Lee said Korea and France agreed to continue close coordination to help quickly restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize global supply chains.
Lee has faced pressure from the United States over the issue of dispatching troops to the Strait of Hormuz. He discussed the matter with Macron, drawing attention to what level of military and non-military contribution the Korean government might make to help secure freedom of navigation in the strait.
Lee spoke at a joint press conference following the summit with Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday (local time). He said, "Korea promises to responsibly contribute to resolving the common challenges facing the international community through cooperation with the G7."
Lee also noted, "In April, I took part in a meeting on the Strait of Hormuz led by France and the United Kingdom, where I expressed Korea's willingness to contribute to the stability of the strait and freedom of navigation."
The remark appeared to refer to discussions on the issue during a Korea-France summit when Macron visited Korea in April. It also referred to Lee's participation in a video conference led by the UK and France to address the Hormuz situation.
The summit also involved in-depth discussions on economic cooperation between the two countries.
"We agreed to further strengthen economic and industrial cooperation with the goal of reaching $20 billion in trade by 2030," Lee said. "Building on France's accumulated technological capabilities and Korea's competitive manufacturing capacity, we will actively pursue mutually beneficial cooperation projects that help both countries."
He added, "A Korea-France business roundtable involving about 20 companies from both countries will be held to explore new cooperation and investment opportunities in advanced technology and future industries." He also noted that "the cooperation document signed between KOTRA and Business France will help strengthen a comprehensive support system for companies entering each other's markets."
Lee also said, "We decided to flesh out cooperation to connect advanced industries and science and technology — including AI, quantum, space, nuclear power and biotech, which form the core of bilateral cooperation — with industry and markets." He emphasized that the two countries signed MOUs during the summit outlining specific cooperation measures. These included expanding mutual market access for startups from both countries and joint research and development between companies and research institutions.
On nuclear energy, Lee explained, "We signed additional cooperation documents on nuclear research and development and fuel supply, building on the full life-cycle nuclear cooperation agreed with France in April, and agreed to deepen cooperation further in developing next-generation reactors and diversifying supply chains over the mid- to long-term."
In particular, he said, "Based on the agreement with President Macron, we also decided to launch a high-level dialogue channel for civilian nuclear cooperation."
sang@heraldcorp.com
