Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (left) and President Park Geun-hye pose for a photo prior to summit talks at Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 27. The two leaders discussed measures to substantially boost bilateral cooperation.
The leaders of Korea and the Netherlands held a summit in Seoul on Sept. 27 to review their bilateral relationship, which marks its 55th anniversary this year. The two leaders discussed measures to boost cooperation on exchanges, trade, energy and the creative industries. Both leaders shared their views on cooperative measures in regard to responses to North Korean nuclear weapons issues, and to other regional and international issues of cooperation.
In order to bolster cooperation on technological innovation, Korea and the Netherlands agreed to establish a joint committee on innovation and to solidify the foundation of their bilateral cooperation on new industries, such as the biotech sector.
President Park and Prime Minister Rutte held summit talks in the morning at Cheong Wa Dae and later signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) covering cooperation on four areas: big data and statistics, investment, employment and tourism. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in order to lay the groundwork for a cooperative partnership on industry 4.0 by bolstering bilateral cooperation.
President Park Geun-hye (fourth from right) and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte hold a summit meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 27.
Korea and the Netherlands are currently working on eight joint technological development programs: two in biotechnology, five in IT, and one in the electronics and electrical sectors. As part of the “Eureka Project,” these programs are part of the world’s largest research and development network, based in Europe and with some 44 countries participating.
The two governments agreed to extend ongoing cooperative initiatives, and to establish a joint innovation committee that would act as a cooperation channel for technological developments. The two countries will further create cooperation projects in the chosen sectors, and review their overall fulfillment as they progress.
The two governments signed an MOU in regard to supporting technological innovation, and on reviving joint studies between Korean and Dutch companies, especially in the areas of biotechnology and IT.
Thanks to this latest summit, Korea and the Netherlands have now established a two-way channel to cooperate on technological development, making the Netherlands now Korea’s ninth such partner.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (back, left) and President Park Geun-hye (back, right) attend a signing ceremony on Sept. 27 where representatives of the two nations’ statistical authorities sign an MOU covering cooperation on big data and statistics.
With the new MOU between statistical organizations, the two governments have agreed to share their experiences in creating statistical databases using big data, and agreed to carry out joint studies into big data technologies.
Korea has been focusing on crafting statistical databases using public data, such as population figures and household statistics, and by using big data from the private sector, such as personal credit information. The Netherlands, meanwhile, has many statistical databases that use atypical big data, such as from social networking services or road sensors. For this reason, the Korean government predicts that the newly signed MOU will help supplement the strengths between both countries.
The MOUs covering investment and cooperation, and the one covering business organizations, will offer opportunities for Korea and the Netherlands to expand investments in mutually beneficial manners. Korea has many high-tech industries and manufacturing companies, while the Netherlands has many logistics, shipping, finance and insurance companies.
By Wi Tack-whan, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
whan23@korea.kr
