By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young
President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is on a working visit to South Korea, and exchanged views on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and regional and international affairs on Nov. 28, 2024.
President Yoon welcomed President Rinkēvičs' return to Korea as president six years after his visit as foreign minister in 2018, and expressed his pleasure that Rinkēvičs is making his first visit to Asia after taking office.
The two leaders appreciated the steady development of friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries over the 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1991, and decided to further strengthen cooperation in all fields, including trade and investment, bio-pharmaceuticals, security and defense, and people-to-people exchanges as like-minded countries with shared values.
President Yoon said that Korea, which has world-class biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, and Latvia, which has a number of world-class pharmaceutical companies, look forward to further expanding cooperation in the field of bio-pharmaceuticals.
In response, President Rinkevics said he hopes Latvia can serve as a bridgehead for Korean biopharmaceutical companies to enter the European market.
In addition, Yoon said that Korea could be a good partner for Latvia, which has recently been strengthening its defense capabilities, and suggested that the two countries actively explore the possibility of defense cooperation.
President Rinkevicius called South Korea a reliable security partner and said he looks forward to closer cooperation in defense, such as building air defense networks and enhancing drone capabilities.
The two leaders shared concerns about the recent rise in disinformation and AI-enabled digital cyber threats, and agreed to strengthen strategic communication.
In particular, President Rinkevicius called for increased cooperation in AI and information and communications to actively counter election interference and the spread of disinformation that threatens democracy, and said NATO will work with South Korea to counter disinformation threats through the NATO Strategic Communications Center (StratCom) in Latvia.
Yoon and Rinkevicius welcomed the signing of a working holiday agreement between the two countries this year, and called for the signing of a social security agreement as soon as possible to expand bilateral people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation.
The two leaders expressed strong concern that the illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including the deployment of DPRK troops in Russia, threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe, and agreed to work together to ensure that the international community continues to send a firm message.
President Rinkevicius condemned North Korea's development of its nuclear and missile programs and various provocative acts, expressed his support for the Seoul government's policy toward North Korea, and expressed his willingness to jointly respond.
