Prime Minister’s meeting with Presidential Special Envoy of the Republic of Korea and business delegation

On Monday, 24 April, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has welcomed a business delegation from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) headed by the Presidential Special Envoy, Jang Sung Min. The parties have discussed cooperation between Lithuania and the Republic of Korea and ways to take it further, also the partnership between NATO and the Indo-Pacific countries, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the challenges posed by autocracies to global security, Busan’s candidacy for hosting the EXPO 2030.

Mr Sung Min has confirmed the Republic of Korea’s plans to open its embassy in Lithuania in the near future.

‘We are convinced that like-minded countries like Lithuania and South Korea need to fully deepen their ties and increase their resilience and independence from autocracies. Our countries share a common interest not only in economic partnership, but also in preserving democratic values and a rule-based world order,’ said Prime Minister Šimonytė at the meeting.

The Prime Minister has pointed out that the Government of Lithuania is always ready to listen and contribute to ensuring that the conditions for investment and trade, energy, science and innovation cooperation are as favourable as possible for the well-being of both countries.

The parties have highlighted the similarities between the historical experiences of Lithuania and the Republic of Korea, the common security challenges, and the shared democratic values.

The Prime Minister and Mr Sung Min have underlined the importance of cooperation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific countries in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Vilnius, which the President of the Republic of Korea is planning to attend. As Prime Minister Šimonytė has noted, the cooperation and the support of democracies to Russia’s attacked Ukraine are particularly important as the world’s authoritarian regimes are watching our response and assessing the boundaries for aggression.

The Republic of Korea's bid to host EXPO 2030 in Busan has also been discussed. The decision on the right to host the World EXPO 2030 will be taken in November this year.