President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sept. 20 gives a congratulatory speech at a signing ceremony for an agreement on cooperation with the Czech Republic in the lifecycle of nuclear power plants at Doosan Skoda Power of the Czech Plzen Industrial Complex. (Office of the President)
By Lee Kyoung Mi
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sept. 22 returned home from an official four-day visit to the Czech Republic (Czechia).
Both countries concluded 56 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on trade, investment and energy to set a firm foundation for their nuclear alliance and push ahead with economic cooperation.
On Sept. 20, President Yoon inspected with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala the joint venture Doosan Skoda Power, which has the source technology for power generation turbines, and Skoda JS, a Czech manufacturer of nuclear plant equipment. The president also attended a signing ceremony for an accord on bilateral cooperation in the lifecycle of such plants.
At the event, the industry ministries of both nations, which oversee nuclear power policy, signed an MOU on cooperation in all sectors of the nuclear power ecosystem such as plant construction and development of technology and human resources. The two sides also agreed to support private cooperation.
A combined 13 MOUs were signed here including those covering management of nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
In his congratulatory speech at the ceremony, President Yoon said, “I thank you for selecting ‘Team Korea’ as the preferred negotiating partner for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project in the Dukovany region, the largest national project in Czech history.”
He also suggested jointly opening a new future by leading a global renaissance in nuclear power.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Trade Insurance Corp. also signed an MOU on financial cooperation with Czechia’s NRB (National Development Bank), Czech Export Bank and Export Guarantee and Insurance Corp.
The gist of this agreement was sharing data on large-scale infrastructure projects, offering joint support, and using the programs of each organization for cooperation in fiscal support and stabilization of supply chains for companies entering both countries.
Other bilateral MOUs signed during President Yoon’s visit included two between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Czech Ministry of Transport — one on cooperation in high-speed rail and the other to help rebuild Ukraine. Another between the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade covered collaboration in batteries.
km137426@korea.kr
