Photo : YONHAP News
South Korea and Slovakia have established a strategic partnership encompassing trade, investment, energy, security and defense.
The presidential office said Monday that President Yoon Suk Yeol and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico resolved to elevate ties between the two countries at a summit earlier in the day at Yoon’s office in Seoul.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a trade and investment promotion framework, with the aim of supporting South Korean companies in entering the Slovakian market through increased cooperation on trade, investment, industry and supply chains.
With a memorandum on comprehensive energy cooperation, the two sides reaffirmed their intent to enhance cooperation on carbon-free energy.
They also agreed to seek cooperation on artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.
After expressing shared concerns about destabilizing acts by North Korea and about the North’s increasing military cooperation with Russia, the two sides decided to coordinate their efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea and promote human rights there.
South Korea is the first Asian country to establish a strategic partnership with Slovakia and now has similar ties with every member of the Visegrád Group, a cultural and political alliance that also includes the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.