By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit on April 23 with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, who is on an official visit to South Korea, and exchanged a wide range of views on ways to promote practical cooperation between the two countries, as well as regional and international developments.
 

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the ROK-Romania Strategic Partnership last year, the two leaders recognized that the bilateral relationship is deepening in many aspects and adopted the Joint Statement on Strengthening the ROK-Romania Strategic Partnership to further develop bilateral cooperation in a more strategic and future-oriented manner in light of the new political and economic environment.

The two leaders noted with encouragement the steady increase in bilateral trade between the Republic of Korea and Romania, which reached a record high last year, and decided to build on the Agreement on Defense Cooperation signed between the two governments on the sidelines of the summit to further promote education, training exchanges, and technical cooperation in the field of defense, while building an optimal partnership in the field of defense. 

Following the export of KP-SAM missiles to Romania late last year, defense cooperation in a number of products is being discussed between the two countries, and the President expressed his hope that South Korea, as a strategic partner, will actively contribute to Romania's military modernization project. 

In response, President Iohannis said that bilateral cooperation in the field of defense has become even more important due to the geopolitical and security situation, and that he is very serious about defense cooperation with South Korea.

The two leaders agreed that bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy is developing, thanks to the award of the 'Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant Triple Deuterium Removal Facility Construction Project' last year, and discussed various ways to cooperate in nuclear energy, including the improvement of nuclear power plant facilities and the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs), and decided to build on the MOU on nuclear energy cooperation signed on the occasion of their visit. 

The two leaders also decided to explore various ways of cooperation in the field of renewable and carbon-free energy, including nuclear power, and the Romanian side expressed its support for our Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Initiative.

The two leaders also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of port infrastructure, economic security, cybersecurity, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and disaster safety.

The two leaders condemned North Korea's ongoing provocations and military cooperation with Russia, and agreed to work closely with the international community to denuclearize North Korea and promote human rights. 

The two leaders also agreed that cooperation between South Korea and Europe is becoming more important in the changed international situation, and agreed to work together to strengthen the ROK-NATO partnership. They also agreed to continue to cooperate on humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Ukraine.

Following the summit, the two leaders attended a ceremony to sign an intergovernmental agreement and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between relevant ministries.