On September 3, President Park Geun-hye attended the second Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, as a guest of honor. In her speech at the plenary session, President Park spelled out a vision and concrete measures for cooperation in Russia’s Far Eastern region.

The President also attended a Korea-Russia Business Dialogue. In her congratulatory remarks, she highlighted the necessity of advancing cooperative ties and strengthening the high value-added partnership between Korea and Russia.

After the Eastern Economic Forum, the President held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two Presidents discussed a wide variety of cooperative measures to further develop bilateral relations. President Park also noted that the summit reaffirmed the importance of both countries as invaluable partners in addressing the North Korean nuclear problem and other issues involving the North. It marked President Park's first bilateral visit to Russia since her inauguration.

President Attends Korea-Russia Business Dialogue to Outline Directions for Cooperation



President Park Geun-hye, during her visit to Vladivostok, Russia for the second Eastern Economic Forum, attended the Korea-Russia Business Dialogue at the Far Eastern Federal University. President Park laid out directions for cooperation between business leaders in both countries.

In her congratulatory remarks, President Park highlighted the necessity of advancing cooperative ties between Korea and Russia on all economic fronts, including trade and investment, in the face of difficult domestic and international economic conditions for both nations caused by a global trend of low economic growth and the emergence of protectionism as well as a drop in commodity prices around the world. She added that such efforts would help identify new growth engines that could be a win-win for each of them.

Noting that she looked forward to the conclusion of the joint research into a Korea-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) FTA leading to the beginning of full-fledged negotiations, the President said that an institutional framework enabling free exchanges of people, goods and capital between Korea and the EAEU would open a new chapter in bilateral economic cooperation.

With regards to Russia’s roadmap, featuring improvement in the investment environment, deregulation and export support, to develop the Far East that has vast land and abundant resources, President Park emphasized that the two countries could work together in many areas to bring this about.

In relation to strengthening the high value-added partnership between the two Governments and between medical institutions in the two nations, President Park also said she hoped that cooperation in assisting Korean hospitals to enter the Russian Far East along with telemedicine services utilizing information and communications technology would contribute to the health and welfare of people in the region.

Then, the President said if the 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relation were a time for laying the foundation of economic cooperation, the next 25 years beginning this year should be a time for building a monumental achievement on that foundation.

Some 350 business people, including 150 Koreans and 200 Russians, took part in the event jointly organized by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

President Park Addresses Eastern Economic Forum in Russia Emphasizing Urgent Need to Solve North Korean Nuclear Problem



President Park Geun-hye attended the second Eastern Economic Forum held in the morning under the theme “Opening up the Russian Far East” as a guest of honor. In her speech at the plenary session, President Park spelled out a vision and concrete measures for cooperation in Russia’s Far Eastern region.

President Park began by saying that the Far East is a treasure trove of energy resources such as petroleum and natural gas and, at the same time, a new hub in Russia at the starting point of the main artery of transportation and logistics in the Eurasian continent connecting to Europe. She went on to say that Korea, too, has paid close attention to the Far East.

She added that an immense amount of potential energy in the Far East cannot be unleashed now due to a severed link—North Korea—but if that link were reconnected someday, the Far East would become a bridge of prosperity and peace merging the Eurasian continent with the Asia-Pacific region.

Though South Korea–North Korea–Russia trilateral cooperation, including the Rajin-Khasan Project, was in a difficult situation due to the North’s continued provocations, President Park emphasized that, if such stumbling blocks were removed, the comprehensive project could be reinitiated. President Park continued to say that, if such an environment were created, minilateral cooperation in connection with the Russian Far East, for instance, among Korea, Russia and Japan or Korea, Russia and China would go into full gear. In addition, the President said that it would also contribute to promoting shared prosperity in the region by furthering the networking of infrastructures in Northeast Asia, including power plants, railroads and other energy-related facilities. On top of this, the President said that if we failed to urgently work to deter the North’s nuclear development, its nuclear threats would become an irreversible reality in the near future. In this connection, the President emphasized that what matters the most in forcing the North to give up its nuclear ambitions is to send a stern, unified message.

President Park said in order to promote development in the Far East, more people should be attracted to the region through increased investment in and stronger cooperation on food, housing, healthcare and medical service. In particular, the President also said that infrastructure, including transportation facilities and ports, could be expanded through cooperation between Korean and Russian companies and that new logistics routes connecting the Eurasian continent in all directions could be developed.

Then, President Park stressed that if a free trade agreement between Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), in which Russia plays a pivotal role, were signed, economic integration in Eurasia would be promoted, further vitalizing the development of the Far East and allowing the benefits of the development to spread to the entire Eurasian continent.

Korea-Russia Summit Reaffirms Importance of Partnership for Cooperation



President Park Geun-hye held a summit with President Vladimir Putin. The two Presidents discussed a wide variety of cooperative measures to further develop bilateral relations. President Park said that even though Korea and Russia have experienced a range of changes thus far, the importance of the two countries to each other remains unchanged. She continued to say that trust is most important in further advancing bilateral ties and, for building such confidence, close communication is crucial.

After the summit, the two heads of state had a working luncheon and subsequently participated in a signing ceremony for agreements and MOUs and a joint press conference.

At the joint press conference, President Park said the Korea-Russia summit, this time, served as an opportunity to share an understanding of the necessity and vision of cooperation between the two countries in the Far East where President Putin’s New Eastern Policy and President Park’s Eurasia Initiative converge. She also noted that the summit reaffirmed the importance of both countries as invaluable partners in addressing the North Korean nuclear problem and other issues involving the North.

Next, the two Presidents took note of the strategic value of the Russian Far East and said that the two countries had agreed to strive to expand substantive cooperation in the region. In particular, the two leaders also said that, if rich resources and development potential in the Russian Far East were combined with Korea’s capital and technology, the region would become a new blue ocean conducive to promoting shared prosperity for the two nations.

In addition, President Park said that she had a discussion on a wide-range of issues with her Russian counterpart on the promotion of connectivity in the Eurasian region. The President continued to say that a nine-month joint, private study into an FTA between Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), in which Russia is a key country, has been completed, thus laying a foundation for negotiations.

Mentioning that it is more imperative than anything else that North Korean nuclear development and missile launches, which are the biggest security threats in the region, should be urgently solved to expand bilateral cooperation, President Park said that she and President Putin agreed to further strengthen strategic communication to address the North Korean problems.

Finally, President Park said she hoped that both Korea and Russia could become reliable partners who would seek peace and prosperity together as strategic partners on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the Far East and Eurasia as well as on the global stage. During President Park’s visit to Russia, a total of 24 memoranda of understanding on trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, healthcare and medical services were signed. They are expected to allow Korean companies to participate in the projects in the Far East, including the construction of a fishery refrigeration warehouse in Vladivostok, a Kamchatka state hospital and a waste processing plant in Khabarovsk.

This article and photos were originally posted on the website of Cheong Wa Dae.