< Table of Contents > ● Korea-Switzerland Summit Talks ● President Attends Korea-Switzerland Business Forum ● Art exhibition on Paul Klee and "Korean fantsay" ● President Visits Commercial-Industrial Vocational School Bern (GIBB) ● Meeting with Swiss Citizens with Close Ties to Korea ● Meeting with Members of Korean Community in Switzerland

● Korea-Switzerland Summit Talks



President Park Geun-hye, currently on her state visit to Switzerland, held summit talks with Swiss President Didier Burkhalter in Bern on January 21 (Korean time). The two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in science, technology, vocational training and education.

The leaders agreed to incubate talented human resources in forward-looking technologies, backed by Switzerland’s vocational education system, and in this respect signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on vocational training. Under the agreement, Korea will select 20 graduates from its specialized "meister" vocational high schools who studied achinery or biotechnology and send them to Switzerland for a two-year vocational training course, all to develop skilled human resources with an internationally competitive edge. In line with this MOU, Korea also plans to improve the curriculum at its meister schools across the country to meet global standards.

The two countries signed a social security agreement which exempts pension deductions and employment insurance from the salary of workers in both countries. The agreement will benefit Korean workers in Switzerland with up to KRW 22.9 million saved and Swiss workers in Korea with up to KRW 10 million saved per year. Cheong Wa Dae said that this agreement is a fruitful outcome achieved by the two countries after 14 years of negotiations.

President Park said that she shares the view with her Swiss counterpart that fostering high quality talent is the key driving force to lead a creativity-based economy. “We agreed to build a cooperative structure with Switzerland in vocational training, a field in which Switzerland is quite strong. If Switzerland can combine its prowess in core technologies and basic sciences with Korea’s industrial technology, it will create greater potential synergies,” said President Park. In this respect, both countries also signed an MOU on educational cooperation. To conduct joint research in basic sciences, an MOU was signed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA). To support commercialization and starting new businesses using science and technology, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) signed an MOU with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).

The two countries agreed to enhance beneficial technological cooperation by combining Switzerland’s knowhow in precision machinery, nanotechnology and biotechnology with Korea’s manufacturing technology. Both countries agreed to set up joint support measures amongst financial organizations in order to help each other’s firms enter third markets.

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● President Attends Korea-Switzerland Business Forum



President Park Geun-hye presented her vision for economic cooperation at the Korea-Switzerland Business Forum on January 21.

In her congratulatory remarks, President Park said that Korea and Switzerland have many things in common, as the two countries have both overcome a barren natural environment and geopolitical demerits by focusing on human creativity, the opening of markets and by investing in human resources. “If the two countries can share such wisdom and ability, the two sides can together make a brighter future,” said President Park.

“The core of a creative economy lies in creating more jobs and new markets by combining science and IT with new ideas that are based on boundless creativity and not limited by resources. That is the foundation for growth,” she said. President Park emphasized that creativity and innovation are the best growth engines for countries that don’t have enough natural resources, like Korea or Switzerland. She said that the two countries can create new opportunities if their firms expand investment in each other’s economies and help each other enter third markets. For small- and medium-sized firms in Switzerland, she said, investing in Korea would help them achieve further growth and enter global markets.

Swiss President Didier Burkhalter said in his speech that Korea is a “meaningful partner and an economic leader with bright prospects and future growth potential.” The Swiss leader showed his strong interest in President Park’s vision for the creative industries by saying that, “Technology is an infinite resource and innovation potential based on ideas will never run out though time goes on.”

“For countries which lack natural resources, like Switzerland and Korea, innovation is the source of wealth-creation,“ said President Burkhalter. The Swiss leader urged that people, researchers and firms need to pursue ceaseless innovation. He stressed the importance of talented human resources being armed with knowledge and expertise and said that companies need to encourage them to come up with creative ideas. He also emphasized bilateral cooperation between Korea and Switzerland, saying that the two countries would be able to create infinite growth potential through a free trade agreement.

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● Art exhibition on Paul Klee and "Korean fantsay"



President Park Geun-hye began her state visit to Switzerland with a series of cultural events, visiting an art exhibition and attending a performance. President Park, who has now become the first Korean head of state to visit the country, visited a special exhibition on Paul Klee (1879-1940), a well-known Swiss abstract painter, and attended a performance of “Korean Fantasy” in Bern on January 19.

The president visited the Zentrum Paul Klee museum in Bern to see “Paul Klee- Life and Work.” This exhibition is composed of 18 parts to show the work and life of the famous Swiss painter in chronological order.

Accompanied by museum director Peter Fischer, the president admired many well-known paintings, including “Insula Dulcamara” and Klee’s posthumous work “Still Life.”

After attending the exhibition, President Park quoted the painter himself by saying, "'Artists do not reproduce what we see. Rather, they make us see.' The talents of artists who create what people do not see is the energy that leads society in a creative manner. Such artistic creativity should be combined with IT and technological innovation in order to bring new creative energy to Korean society and to the economy."

After the museum visit, President Park attended a performance of the "Korea Fantasy," a dance and art show presented by the National Dance Company of Korea which shows off traditional Korean clothing, dance and singing. The show was designed to introduce viewers to traditional Korean art and culture and is part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Korea-Switzerland diplomatic relationship. The performance featured some representative traditional Korean dances which have received favorable responses on world stages, including the taepyeongmu, a dance praying for peace, the buchaechum, or fan dance, the samgomu, a three-drum dance, the ogomu, a five-drum dance, and the dongnae hak chum, a traditional Korean crane dance native to the Dongnae region in Busan.

After enjoying the performance, President Park appeared on stage to deliver words of encouragement to the performers and said that she is glad to introduce Korean culture to Bern, a beautiful city listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. "Culture makes it possible for people around the world to live together and become one," said the president, stressing the importance of cultural communication.

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● Presidet Visits Commercial-Industrial Vocational School Bern (GIBB)



President Park Geun-hye made a visit to Gewerblich-industriellen Berufsschule Bern (GIBB, Commercial-Industrial Vocational School Bern) in the morning at the invitation of the Swiss Government. Swiss President Didier Burkhalter and First Lady Friedrun Sabine Burkhalter accompanied President Park on the tour of the school. During her stay there, she was briefed about the Swiss education system and looked around school facilities and classrooms.

Bernhard Pulver, a member of the Cantonal Council of Bern, and Sonja Morgenegg-Marti, the principal of GIBB, made brief presentations to President Park about the vocational training system in Switzerland and GIBB in general.

After the briefing, President Park together with President Burkhalter and the First Lady observed computer language and engineering classes and had discussions with students.

Later, President Park sat together with the Swiss presidential couple and the principal to talk about her impressions of the visit and ways to enhance bilateral collaboration in vocational training.

On the previous day, the two nations signed MOUs pertaining to educational cooperation and nurturing of professionals, thereby laying the institutional groundwork for furthering collaboration. The visit to the school today with the presidential couple gave President Park firsthand experience of the nation’s vocational training and an opportunity to discuss in person ways to strengthen cooperation.

Switzerland’s advancement as a leader in the manufacturing and high-tech industries can be attributed in part to the strength of its education system, which recognizes the importance of systematic vocational training and of skilled technical experts. The President’s visit today proceeded as part of the Korean Government’s efforts to benchmark the Swiss system and explore possibilities for related cooperation.

Both Korea and Switzerland have achieved economic advancement despite limited natural resources by focusing on developing their human resources. In light of this shared background, the Swiss vocational education system provides a particularly useful benchmark for Korea to improve its own system, and efforts will continue to strengthen prospects for bilateral cooperation in this area.

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● Meeting with Swiss Citizens with Close Ties to Korea



President Park Geun-hye met with six Swiss citizens with close ties to Korea as the first official event of her state visit to the country. Among the group of Swiss leaders, who are familiar with and have affinity for Korea, was Maj. Gen. Jean-Jacques Joss, President of the Swiss-Korean Association, who is working hard to inform people in Switzerland about Korea and promote friendly relations between the two countries.

At the meeting, President Park stressed the fact that the role and activities of civilian diplomats are just as important as exchanges between the governments in enhancing friendly, cooperative relations between nations. She also expressed her appreciation to the participants for their roles as a bridge in their respective fields, boosting friendship between the two countries.

The participants responded by noting that the first state visit to Switzerland by a Korean President would mark a milestone to elevate bilateral relations a step higher.

Upon hearing that three guests had first associated with Korea as members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), President Park noted that Switzerland has made significant contributions to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through the NNSC over the past six decades. In this connection, the President expressed her appreciation to the Swiss Government and people.

President Park also added that she wanted to use her visit this time to bolster mutually beneficial collaboration with Switzerland in the areas of science and technology as well as vocational training. To this end, the President asked for enhanced support at the parliamentary level.

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● Meeting with Members of Korean Community in Switzerland



President Park Geun-hye, who is on a state visit to Switzerland, held a dinner with the members of the Korean community. At the meeting, the President complimented and encouraged the participants for their hard work in contributing to the enhancement of friendship and cooperation between Korea and Switzerland.

In her dinner remarks, President Park said the two countries marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year and had thus far expanded cooperation in a variety of areas, including national security and the economy as well as science and technology. She continued to express the hope that her state visit, the first by a Korean head of state since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963, would serve as a new turning point for further advancement of the bilateral relationship. She also asked the members of the Korean community, who have worked hard for the progress of bilateral relations, to continue to play a greater role as a bridge linking the two countries.

The President took the time to explain her three-year plan for economic innovation, which was unveiled during her New Year press conference recently. The plan was devised as an economic strategy to strengthen economic fundamentals and look to an era of US$40,000 in per capita income. To achieve these goals, she said, cooperation with the international community is crucial and Switzerland is an ideal partner considering its top national competitiveness, its excellent human resources and its capabilities for global innovation. The President asked the Korean community in Switzerland to stand behind the efforts of the Government to expand the scope of partnership.

Noting that Switzerland has contributed to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission since 1953 when the ceasefire agreement was reached, the President emphatically said that collaboration on the part of Switzerland and the international community was crucial in laying the groundwork for the reunification of the Peninsula. The President went on to say that she looked forward to the Korean community’s role in and contributions to garnering increased support from many European states, including Switzerland.

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