Foreign Minister Park Jin held a dialogue session in a town hall meeting format with the regular course students (total of 38) from the 10th Diplomatic Candidates Training Program* at the 18th-floor Seohee Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 21. Minister Park emphasized that South Korea bears a historic mission to contribute to the freedom, peace, and prosperity of the international community as a global pivotal country at the critical turning point of a significant era. Minister Park reminded the candidates that South Korea is ranked as the world's 10th largest economy, 6th in com
By Reporter Kim Hak Young Koh Jin, chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government, met with Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar on July 24 to discuss ways to cooperate in the field of public digital transformation between Korea and India. The meeting was held as the Indian Embassy requested to share information on South Korea's digital platform government policy and discuss cooperation between the two countries ahead of the G20 summit (Sept. 9-10), when India took over as chairman this year. Koh and Kumar shared the current status of policies and cooperation agenda
By Reporter Lee jon young The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) announced on July 20 that it held an "invitation meeting for African ambassadors to Korea." The EDCF is an economic aid fund for new developing countries established by the Korean government in 1987 to promote economic exchanges with Korea. It supports industrial development and economic stability in developing countries by providing long-term, low-interest loans. The meeting was organized to strengthen economic cooperation with Africa, which has emerged as a large single market with about 1.3 billion people with the la
The trilateral summit meeting among South Korea, the United States, and Japan will be held in the United States in August. The presidential office announced on July 20, "The specific date and location will be announced shortly after coordination among the three countries." President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will participate in the 'South Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting,' scheduled to take place on August 18 (local time) at the 'Camp David' presidential retreat near Washington, Maryland, USA. The three countries have held trilateral meet
South Korea and Pakistan are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2023. However, it is a reality that bilateral exchanges between the two countries have been rather limited despite the excellent relations. With a distinguished background as a veteran diplomat who served at the United Nations, the appointment of Nabeel Munir as the Pakistani Ambassador to South Korea is seen as a highly positive step, and it is expected to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two nations. From the 5th century BC to the 2nd century AD, Pakistan was a r
By Reporter Kayla lee SK Innovation announced its participation as an official sponsor of the “World Choir Games Gangneung 2023,” which was held from July 3 to 13 in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, South Korea, to spread messages of courage and hope to people around the world after COVID-19. Along with the sponsorship, SK Innovation is also carrying out promotional activities to support Busan’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 at the venue of the Gangneung event. As Gangneung was successfully selected as the host of the World Choir Games after the fierce competition of 36 countries, the company wi
By Reporter Kayla lee Kia Corporation announced on July 20 that it has expanded its renowned Green Light Project (GLP) to the Republic of Albania, marking the launch of its thirteenth project location globally. As part of this initiative, Kia will be conducting a three-year medical support program for children with disabilities in the Librazhd region of Albania. The GLP is Kia's flagship global social contribution endeavor, aimed at supporting communities in need across various sectors such as economy, education, healthcare, and environment. Kia has mainly activated GLP initiatives across impo
Jung Gang, Chief of Consular Affairs and Safety, visited Tokyo, Japan, and held the 23rd Korea-Japan Consular Chiefs Meeting with Toshihide Ando, Director-General of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on July 19. During the meeting, they extensively exchanged views on cooperation in various consular areas between the two countries, including △support for immigration, entry, and stay △protection of their respective nationals within each other's country. Director Jung requested Japan's cooperation to improve the convenience of stay for our nationals. At the same time, considering the rece
By Reporter Anna Kim Foreign Minister Park Jin held a bilateral meeting with Enrique Manalo, the Philippine Foreign Minister, on the occasion of attending the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministerial Meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 14. Ministers Park and Manalo agreed to further strengthen the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries in preparation for the 75th anniversary of South Korea-Philippine diplomatic relations in 2024. To achieve this goal, they discussed promoting active exchanges of high-level officials and exploring various cooperation measures, including
Ambassador Song In-chang, the Sherpa for the G20, participated in the '3rd G20 Sherpa Meeting' held from July 13 to 16 in Hampi, India. At this meeting, representatives from G20 member countries and nine invited guest countries as well as major international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) attended, and substantive work on the drafting of the official G20 declaration to be announced at the G20 Summit in September began in earnest. The nine invited guest countries for 2023 are Spain, Singapore, Ban
By Reporter Anna Kim Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin attended the ASEAN-related Diplomatic Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 14. On this occasion, he held a meeting with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to discuss bilateral relations and other matters. Both ministers celebrated the 140th anniversary of Korean-British exchanges this year and noted the active high-level exchanges between the two countries, including their meeting during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May and the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 11. They agreed to continue and expand bilateral cooperation i
By Reporter Kayla lee The Economic and Trade Delegation from Jining City, Shandong Province, China, visited Yeongju City for one night and two days from July 13 to 14, aiming to enhance friendly cooperation and promote industrial development exchanges. Since the signing of the friendly exchange agreement in September 2010, Yeongju City and Jining City have continuously engaged in economic, educational, youth, cultural, and artistic exchanges. Led by Lee Hwa-gwang, Deputy Director of Jining Municipal People's Government Foreign Affairs Office, the Jining City delegation’ visit this time marks t
The Korean and Mongolian National Tax Agency Chiefs held their 12th meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on July 18. During the meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed to enhance tax cooperation between the two countries. According to the terms of the MOU, the Mongolian National Tax Agency will organize annual tax conferences exclusively for more than 450 Korean companies operating in Mongolia. These conferences aim to provide tax-related information, address any tax-related issues, and actively support Korean businesses from a tax perspective. Additionally, the Korean National Tax
By Reporter Anna Kim The Gyeonggi Provincial Council visited Mongolia's Darkhan-Uul Provincial Council, a friendship region, on July 7 and agreed to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish friendly relations between the two councils and make mutual efforts to enhance the relationship. The visit by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council delegation was in response to the request from the Darkhan-Uul Provincial Council, which had visited the Gyeonggi Provincial Council in April and May. Since the beginning of this year, both sides have been engaged in practical consultations to resume t
Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed various mutual interests, including South Korea-China relations, the Korean Peninsula issue and regional and international situations during the approximately 45-minute meeting Both sides reaffirmed the consensus reached during the South Korea-China summit in November last year at the G20, aiming to continue developing their bilateral relations. They emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy and mature relationship based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and common interests and agreed to make efforts tow