Korean and European delegates hold the 13th Korea-EU Joint Committee Meeting on June 23 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul.
The 13th Joint Committee Meeting between Korea and the European Union was held on June 23 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul.
During the meeting, the two parties reviewed the status of and measures for the matters agreed upon during the Korea-EU summit held in September last year, all while discussing more specific measures that could expand their partnership in terms of trade, investment, industries, science, technologies, education and the arts.
First, both parties promised to make efforts toward the swift ratification in Korea of the framework agreement for the participation of the Republic of Korea in European Union crisis management operations.
In terms of partnerships in science and technologies, the two reviewed their partnership status in each field, such as in nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy, IT and satellite navigation systems. In particular, they sought collaborative measures for the USD 7 million worth of joint research that is targeted for 5G, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.
The two parties agreed to organize working groups under the joint committee to deal with energy, climate change and environmental issues, and to deal with terrorism.
During the meeting, they discussed measures to expand mutual benefits in terms of trade, investment and services, reviewing achievements made by the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal that marks its fifth year on July 1.
This 13th meeting, held one and a half years since the last meeting in November 2014, was led by Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Tae-ho from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Managing Director Asia and Pacific for the European External Action Service Gunnar Wiegand.
The next meeting will be held in Brussels next year.
By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
icchang@korea.kr
