By Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting France to negotiate the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo, held a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Nov. 24, exchanging views on regional and global issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East, as well as ways to strengthen practical cooperation in future industries between the two countries.

The two leaders first assessed the active exchanges between the two countries' companies, including investments in secondary batteries and renewable energy, and agreed on the need for bilateral cooperation in areas such as nuclear power, quantum science, startups, and semiconductors. 

The two leaders also discussed strengthening cooperation on climate change, decarbonization and energy transition, and renewable energy development, and President Macron expressed his support for Korea's carbon-free energy (CFE) initiative.

The two leaders also agreed on the need for international cooperation against North Korea's continued nuclear and missile provocations, with President Macron expressing to President Yoon his full solidarity and support on the North Korean issue. The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East following the Israeli-Hamas armed conflict.

The Korea-France summit, which took place five months after the June summit, is considered an opportunity to deepen cooperation in all fields, including future high-tech industries, based on the strong trust and friendship between the two leaders, and to strengthen global security cooperation with France, a permanent member of the Security Council, ahead of Korea's election as a non-permanent member of the Security Council next year.