Second part of the working visit by Xavier Bettel and Stéphanie Obertin to the Republic of Korea

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The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, and the Minister for Digitalisation, Research and Higher Education, Stéphanie Obertin, have concluded their working visit to the Republic of Korea.

  1. (fr. l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action; Tae-yul Cho, Minister for Foreign Affairs South Korea

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  2. (fr. l. to r.) n.c.; Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education; Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; Jacques Flies, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; n.c.

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  3. Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs

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  4. (front left) Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education --- (middle) Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs

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  5. Second part of the working visit by Xavier Bettel and Stéphanie Obertin to South Korea

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  6. (left to right) n.c.; Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education; n.c.

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  7. Second part of the working visit by Xavier Bettel and Stéphanie Obertin to South Korea

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  8. Second part of the working visit by Xavier Bettel and Stéphanie Obertin to South Korea

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  9. Group photo

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The second part of Minister Bettel's programme was a bilateral meeting with his Korean counterpart, Mr Cho Tae-yul, which provided an opportunity to take stock of bilateral relations between the two countries and to explore ways of strengthening them, particularly in the economic, financial and cultural fields.

In this context, Minister Bettel was delighted to sign an agreement with his counterpart establishing a working holiday programme between Luxembourg and South Korea. By giving young Luxembourgers and Koreans aged between 18 and 35 access to the local labour market for a fixed period in order to finance their stay and holidays, this programme will help to strengthen human ties between the people of Luxembourg and Korea.

Minister Bettel and his Korean counterpart also exchanged views on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and on the Korean peninsula, tensions with North Korea, the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, including the question of recognition of a Palestinian state.

Ministers Bettel and Obertin also visited the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which was created in 1953 when the armistice between North and South Korea was signed. The Luxembourg delegation was given a presentation by members of the United Nations Command in Korea (UNC).

The two ministers also met with Korean business leaders.

Minister Stéphanie Obertin met Mr Young-bin Yoon, Administrator of the Korean AeroSpace Administration (KASA), newly created in May 2024. This working meeting was devoted to exploring ways of strengthening cooperation between Luxembourg and Korea in the field of space, and in particular space resources, for example through research cooperation with the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).

Minister Obertin also met her counterpart, Minister of Science and ICT, Jong Ho Lee. A memorandum of understanding was signed to strengthen research cooperation in the fields of biology and health.

Press release by the Ministry for Research and Higher Education and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade

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04.07.2024