The 1st Korea-Czech Ministerial Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue Held
The governments of Korea and the Czech Republic have agreed to strengthen nuclear power cooperation, including joint ventures by companies from both countries in third countries.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Minister An Deok-geun held the '1st Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED)' with Josef Sikela, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, on the 20th (local time) in Prague, Czech Republic. SCED is the second ministerial-level supply chain and energy consultative body concluded by Korea after the United States. As strategic partners, the two countries agreed to further strengthen close cooperation in the fields of supply chain and energy.
An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "Through the conclusion of this SCED, the two countries reaffirmed their mutual importance in the global industrial and energy supply chains," adding, "In a situation where global supply chain instability and the importance of energy security are increasing, we have laid the groundwork to promote prompt cooperation."
Minister Anduk Geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (right) and Minister Jozef S?kela of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade held a meeting on the 20th (local time) at The President Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, and took a commemorative photo.
At the first meeting, the ministers of both countries shared key areas of interest in each cooperation sector, including ▲trade, investment, and supply chain ▲advanced manufacturing ▲carbon-neutral energy ▲nuclear energy ▲joint actions, and discussed ways to expand cooperation.
First, in the trade, investment, and supply chain sector, they confirmed the rapidly expanding trade volume and diversification of traded items between the two countries and explored cooperation measures such as sharing responses to supply chain crises. In the advanced industry sector, cooperation and research and development (R&D) support plans were discussed in three core advanced industries: batteries, robotics, and future vehicles. Regarding carbon-neutral energy, they agreed to strengthen policy and technology exchanges in common interest areas such as hydrogen, energy storage systems (ESS), and energy efficiency.
In particular, in the nuclear power cooperation sector, they agreed to continue cooperation to realize the vision of "nuclear power plants built together by the two countries," and in the joint actions sector, they decided to discuss cooperation measures such as joint ventures by companies from both countries in third countries.
Finally, Minister An said, "SCED will be an important cooperation channel that closely connects the two countries amid deepening global uncertainties and growing importance of energy security," adding, "We will hold a bureau-level consultative body by sector within this year to discover and discuss specific cooperative projects."
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