● Presidents Park, Putin hold summit talks in Seoul

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Cheong Wa Dae on November 13. The two leaders had a constructive discussion on the Seoul-Moscow relationship and agreed to cooperate on a wide range of global issues and across many sectors.

President Park explained to the Russian leader how important Korea-Russia cooperation is as Seoul follows through on its policies to strengthen Eurasian cooperation. The Russian president emphasized that Moscow regards its cooperation with Seoul as very important, mentioning his government’s development projects in the Russian Far East and in Siberia and his economic reform plans. The two presidents agreed to enhance cooperation in politics and security in a strategic, mutually beneficial manner in order to achieve co-prosperity for both countries and to build peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

The two leaders praised the dynamic progress made in the bilateral relationship between Korea and Russia in politics, economics, science, technology and culture. Both presidents expressed their will to further advance their strategic partnership in a future-looking, mutually beneficial manner by realizing the two countries’ development potential.

They agreed to hold summit meetings on a regular basis and to upgrade the level of their dialogue meetings in politics and security by involving high-ranking government officials from the two countries. To deepen cooperation in diplomacy and security, the two leaders decided to hold regular conversational meetings involving the Office of National Security at Cheong Wa Dae, the Security Council of the Russian Federation and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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● Korean, Russian leaders attend dialogue forum

President Park Geun-hye and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the closing ceremony of the third Korea-Russia Dialogue Forum held in Seoul on November 13.

The two leaders delivered closing speeches after being briefed about the key outcomes reached and agendas discussed at the “Korea-Russia cooperation ushering in the era of Eurasia” (unofficial translation) forum.





President Park emphasized that, “Korea and Russia are important partners for each other to achieve peace, stability and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia.” She urged the two countries to play a pivotal role in making a “new era of Eurasia.” She also expressed her hope that the Korea-Russia Dialogue Forum could play a bigger role in opening a Eurasian era by realizing the policy suggestions discussed at the forum. The agenda items discussed at the forum include security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, Korea-Russia cooperation in the creative industries, academic-industry cooperation, development projects in the Russian Far East and Siberia, creative industry cultural exchange, cooperation in media content and more active exchanges in culture and arts.

“Russia is strong in mineral resources while Korea holds strengths in electronics and machinery. The volume of bilateral trade depends on the related government ministries of both countries. For this reason, it is time to devise such a trade system,” said President Putin in his speech. He also proposed forming a cooperative structure for joint production in the shipbuilding sector, rather than just giving and receiving orders, while hoping that Korea’s investment in industrial facilities in the Russian Far East would continue.

President Putin expressed his hope that Korea could actively take part in developing joint transport routes in the Asia-Pacific and Central Asian regions. “Considering the economic profit the two Koreas could gain through this project, we need to solve the political issues as soon as possible,” said the Russian leader. “The foremost priority in Korea-Russia cooperation should be put on the high-tech sector. We also need to cooperate in the field of applied sciences by sharing our experiences and technology,” said the Russian president. He also vowed to provide support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by making the most of their potential. He suggested that the two countries should collect ideas and projects to foster these firms which will play a key role in achieving economic growth.



*Source: http://www.korea.net

                http://english.president.go.kr (Cheong Wa Dae Website)