외교부

한-체코 외교장관회담 모두발언

Good morning.

My warm welcome to you, Mr. Minister, and your delegation. Your visit is particularly significant as this is not only your first visit to Seoul but also a first visit by Czech Foreign Minister to Korea in eight years.

While this is your first time here in Seoul, this is not the first time we meet. I recall that in our previous meeting in Brussels in April, you stressed the importance of an objective and fair process in reviewing the Dukovany nuclear power plant construction project. I am pleased that Team Korea was selected at the end of this rigorous process as the preferred bidder for such a significant project.

Collaboration on such a high-stake infrastructure project is nothing short of a groundbreaking development in Korea-Czech relationship. It speaks to more than two and a half decades of robust trust-building between our two countries. Even more significantly, it represents a bold leap into a deeper, stronger, and broader partnership.

As you are aware, during their phone call immediately after the announcement of the preferred bidder, President Yoon and Prime Minister Fiala committed to leverage our cooperation on nuclear power plant to catalyze an all-encompassing upgrade in our partnership, including political, economic, and people-to-people exchanges.

To translate their commitment into actions and in our preparation for President Yoon’s official visit to the Czech Republic later this month, we are working on comprehensive cooperation projects in various fields, including ▴trade and investment ▴advanced industries ▴science and technology ▴energy ▴cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Each ministry is diligently preparing the relevant deliverables.

I look forward to working closely with you to realize these deliverables as well as our high ambition to build a broader partnership in the fields of innovation, economic growth, sustainable development, trade, security and beyond.

Taking this opportunity, I also wish to thank you for accepting my invitation to join the REAIM meeting. Our cooperation on the multilateral stage to address emerging global issues such as AI and digital technology is a clear priority for both of us.

Looking forward to fruitful discussions today, I now give the floor to you.