First Summit Meeting with the President of Peru
Unified Condemnation of North Korea's Provocative Acts
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen are taking a commemorative photo after the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on the operation of the Korea-Peru Digital Government Cooperation Center, held on the 16th (local time) at the Presidential Palace in Lima, Peru, with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in attendance. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 16th (local time), President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru, and announced that they agreed to further expand cooperation in the defense and defense industry sectors, including the joint development of naval vessels.
In a joint press conference following the summit, President Yoon said, "I am very pleased to visit Peru, a key ally, as my first destination in Latin America since taking office," adding, "When the Korean War broke out on the Korean Peninsula in 1950, the Republic of Korea and Peru had not yet established diplomatic relations." He continued, "Peru did not hesitate to provide war supplies," expressing gratitude by saying, "The people of Korea and I remember Peru as a grateful friend."
President Yoon mentioned, "Since the official establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963, the two countries have developed a solid cooperative relationship in various fields beyond geographical distance," and explained, "In 2011, the Korea-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into effect, and since 2012, we have developed a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'."
President Yoon emphasized, "The two countries have agreed to further expand cooperation in the defense and defense industry sectors," adding, "Starting with the export of 20 KT-1P basic training aircraft in 2012, the two countries have maintained close defense industry cooperation, and this year, our company was selected as a strategic partner of the Peruvian Army and Navy to jointly promote key projects."
On the same day, President Yoon and President Boluarte jointly signed a nameplate to be attached to the naval vessel being built by a Korean company at a Peruvian shipyard. President Yoon said, "This nameplate will be a symbol of the deepening defense industry partnership between the two countries."
Korea and Peru signed a total of three defense industry MOUs and agreements, including the 'Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Joint Development of Naval Vessels (Submarines)' and the 'Comprehensive Agreement on Cooperation for Army Ground Equipment.' Regarding this, President Yoon said, "This will serve as a catalyst to accelerate Korea-Peru defense industry cooperation comprehensively."
Building on the significantly increased trade and investment since the Korea-Peru FTA came into effect in 2011, the two countries agreed to further strengthen economic cooperation.
President Yoon said, "President Boluarte and I agreed to successfully complete the ongoing 'Chinchero New Airport Construction Project' and to strengthen infrastructure cooperation between the two countries so that Peru can emerge as a transportation and logistics hub in Latin America," emphasizing, "The 'Core Minerals Cooperation MOU' signed today will serve as a starting point for deepening mutually complementary supply chain cooperation between resource-rich Peru and technologically advanced Korea."
Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to strengthen technological cooperation and human exchanges between the two countries. President Yoon stated, "Based on the 'Korea-Peru ICT Cooperation MOU' and the 'Korea-Peru Digital Government Cooperation Center MOU' signed today, cooperation in information and communication technology (ICT) and digital transformation between the two countries will expand multilayeredly."
They also signed a tourism cooperation MOU. President Yoon noted, "Despite the geographical distance, more than 14,000 Korean citizens visited Peru last year alone," and predicted, "The tourism cooperation MOU will broaden the contact points between the peoples of the two countries."
The two leaders agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation at the Asia-Pacific regional and global levels. In particular, they jointly condemned North Korea's provocative acts that threaten the global non-proliferation regime and regional and world peace and security, reiterating the call for North Korea's complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization.
President Yoon said, "Today, Peru supported the goal of achieving a unified Korean Peninsula based on freedom, peace, and prosperity through the joint declaration of the two countries and welcomed our '8.15 Unification Doctrine,'" adding, "As the host of APEC next year, Korea will build on Peru's achievements and gather the wisdom of member countries to realize a prosperous Asia-Pacific region."
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