"Launch of Quantum Economic Security Dialogue"
New Zealand Prime Minister's Visit to Korea After 9 Years
Prime Minister Luxon "Supports '8.15 Unification Doctrine'"
President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the 4th and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, economy, science, and defense. In particular, they decided to launch a bilateral economic security dialogue to jointly respond to challenges and opportunities in the field of economic security.
During the summit at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, President Yoon discussed ways to upgrade the current '21st Century Partnership' agreed upon in 2006 to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' with Prime Minister Luxon, who is visiting Korea.
This is Prime Minister Luxon's first visit to Korea since taking office, and the first visit by a New Zealand prime minister in nine years since 2015. The two leaders reunited two months after holding the Indo-Pacific Partners Four (IP4) summit at the NATO summit in July.
The two countries agreed to continue cooperation to promote trade and investment in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Korea-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next year. They also agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in advanced science and technology fields, including the evaluation of the 5th Korea-New Zealand Science and Technology Joint Committee and preparations for the 6th Joint Committee meeting.
President Yoon Suk-yeol listens to the remarks of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Korea-New Zealand summit held on the 4th at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The two leaders agreed to activate high-level dialogues through the Foreign Ministry Policy Council and the Economic Joint Committee to exchange information and opinions on major international and regional issues. In the fields of science, education, and human exchange cooperation, they agreed to jointly foster a private-sector-led space industry and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between national disaster management agencies to respond to natural disasters.
The two leaders also agreed to expand the beneficiaries of various scholarship programs and noted that the working holiday program provides a platform for regular exchanges between the youth of both countries.
Furthermore, they strongly condemned North Korea’s continuous nuclear and missile development and the increasing Russia-North Korea military cooperation, and agreed to cooperate mutually for North Korea’s denuclearization and improvement of human rights within North Korea. Prime Minister Luxon expressed support for President Yoon’s announced '8.15 Unification Doctrine.'
Both countries condemned Russia’s invasion war against Ukraine and agreed to continue supporting Ukraine’s efforts to secure peace. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and expressed concern over the recent situation in the South China Sea and the expansion of hostile acts in the Middle East.
The Presidential Office evaluated this summit meeting as confirming the will to strengthen close cooperation in the region and on the international stage as like-minded countries sharing common values.
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