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On 9 March 2015, the State Secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Andrejs Pildegovics, met with the members of the South Korean Parliament, Byun Jae Ill and Park Young-sun, who are visiting Latvia from 9 to 11 March in order to strengthen cooperation between the Latvian and South Korean Parliaments, reports BC the Latvian MFA.
The State Secretary emphasised that cooperation between Latvia and South Korea has grown more active since 2013 when the Embassy of Korea began working in Riga. Latvia is strongly committed to maintain and develop this positive trend in relations and is planning to open a Latvian Embassy in Seoul in the second half of 2015. State Secretary Pildegovics also noted that cooperation has a strong potential for growth, and its economic and business dimension is of special importance.
Andrejs Pildegovics recognized that investments by South Korean businesses in Latvia are among the largest of all Asian countries. “At the same time, we expect that more Korean companies will choose to enter Latvia”, the State Secretary noted. There was general agreement that a solid foundation has been laid for business cooperation – a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea has been signed and taken effect, and, on the bilateral side, an Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments as well as the Convention for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income have been signed between Latvia and South Korea.
The State Secretary thanked South Korean MPs for supporting Latvia in its negotiations for accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and told the visitors that Latvia expects to join the organisation in 2016.
The members of the South Korean Parliament pointed out that they see a distinct potential in developing cooperation in tourism since South Koreans are showing an ever greater interest in European cultural traditions and in opportunities being offered in the area of tourism. In this regard, what Latvia’s tourism industry has to offer to South Koreans may be of great interest.
When the discussion turned to international security issues, attention was given to the questions of Ukraine and North Korea. All taking part in the conversation took the firm stand that changing borders through the use of military force is unacceptable in the 21st century. The South Korean MPs appreciated Latvia’s contributions to strengthening international security through participation in international peace-keeping missions.
The main challenge faced by South Korea relates to North Korean nuclear weapons and the reunification of South and North Korea. South Korea has called on the international community to devote greater attention to questions regarding North Korea and facilitate the suspension of its nuclear programme.
During their visit, the South Korean MPs have also been scheduled meetings with the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, Inese Libina-Egnere, and representatives from the Group for Interparliamentary Relations between Latvia and the Republic of Korea, including its Chairman Edvards Smiltens.
