President Li Holds Summit With Chilean President Caste
‘Ministerial Level for Mineral Resources Partnership…Securing lithium and copper supply chains
Signing a total of five MOUs, including safety, polar research, and marine safety
ėŽė§ íë Lee Jae Myung’s president speaks during a joint press conference with Chilean President Jose Antonio Cast at the presidential palace in Santiago on the 30th (local time). Yonhap News Agency
Lee Jae Myung’s president, who is on an official visit to Chile, held a summit with Chilean President Jose Antonio Cast at the presidential palace in Santiago on the 30th (local time) and agreed to significantly strengthen trade and core mineral supply chain cooperation.
The leaders of the two countries agreed to restart the “Korea-Chile FTA Free Trade Committee” for the first time in 10 years to improve the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 20 years after the signing to suit the current trade environment.
In a joint press release after the meeting, President Lee said, “In 1949, Chile was the first South American country to approve the South Korean government, and in 2004, Korea chose Chile as its first FTA partner. Since then, the amount of trade between the two countries has quadrupled in 20 years, proving that the two countries’ strategic choices were right,” he said, expressing his willingness to promote trade relations.
In the wake of this meeting, the two countries signed a total of five memorandums of understanding (MOUs), including core minerals, security, polar research, maritime safety, and investment. In particular, through the Mineral Resources Partnership MOU, the joint committee between the two countries was upgraded to the ministerial level and a director-level working channel was established to cooperate throughout the development and utilization of key minerals such as lithium and copper.
“Chile, the world’s No. 1 copper producer and the world’s No. 1 lithium reserve, and Korea, a leader in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and batteries, are natural and ideal partners in building core mineral supply chains,” President Lee said. “The two countries have decided to expand the scope of cooperation to the entire mineral resource supply chain and expand specific cooperation such as information exchange, technology cooperation and human exchanges.”
Cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, defense, and shipbuilding was also discussed. Referring to South America’s first four-lane suspension bridge “Chakao” under construction by a Korean company, President Lee said, “We will be interested in and actively cooperate at the government level to help Chileans’ daily life and economic activities.”
Regarding security and international cooperation, President Lee said, “At today’s meeting, I asked for Chile’s unwavering support for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula,” and President Cast responded, “We will work together for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
At the end of the presentation, President Lee said, “I hope that the two countries will join hands as ‘Amigo (friends)’ and open a better future together,” adding, “Muchas Gracias.”
Reporter Oh Soo-hyun of Santiago