Government Discusses Energy Cooperation with Uruguay... Joint Projects to Be Explored

Deputy Minister Park Il-jun Meets with Uruguay's Minister of Industry

Park Il-jun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is delivering opening remarks at the 'Energy Supply and Demand Major Industry Meeting' held on the 23rd at the Korea Electric Power Corporation Namseoul Headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The government discussed ways to strengthen energy cooperation with Uruguay.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Deputy Minister Park Il-jun held a meeting with Omar Paganini, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay, at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 26th. During the meeting, Deputy Minister Park and Minister Paganini reached a consensus that strengthening energy cooperation between Korea and Uruguay could create significant synergy effects in new energy industries such as renewable energy.

Uruguay is known as a country rich in renewable energy resources such as hydropower and wind power. The amount of renewable energy generation exceeds 80% of the total power generation. Accordingly, the Uruguayan side proposed discovering cooperative projects to produce green hydrogen domestically using Korean technology. Uruguay particularly expects that Korea, which has technological expertise and experience in the hydrogen vehicle sector, can contribute to expanding the hydrogen mobility deployment currently underway in Uruguay.

Deputy Minister Park also discussed expanding renewable energy deployment and electric vehicle cooperation with Minister Paganini. The Ministry emphasized that Korea’s world-class electric vehicle and battery technology, along with its know-how in building electric vehicle charging infrastructure, can promote Uruguay’s production and utilization of eco-friendly energy.

Deputy Minister Park requested the Uruguayan government’s interest and support for cooperation between companies of both countries in the new energy industry sector. He stated, “Through close cooperation between Korea and Uruguay, we can achieve carbon neutrality and strengthen energy security,” adding, “We can also secure new economic growth engines by creating new industries.”