Prague, Dec 3 (CTK) – The Visegrad Four (V4) countries and South Korea want to work for tighter economic, trade and cultural cooperation and they support the unification of North Korea and South Korea and Ukraine´s pro-reform efforts, in a joint memorandum they adopted in Prague on Thursday.
The memorandum was signed by the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia (V4) and South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Park said the statement contains the five countries´ joint vision and specific measures to be taken to materialise the vision.
She praised the fact that cooperation with the V4 is dynamic and that she sees a potential for more intensive cooperation particularly in the economic sphere.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the V4 countries and South Korea are interlinked by significant investments, growing trade as well developing relations in culture.
“It is true that the V4 countries, being a dynamically developing region, are the second largest trade partner of South Korea after Germany within the European Union,” Sobotka said.
The memorandum signatories agreed to intensify political dialogue and strengthen contacts on high level.
That is why they want to hold regular joint meetings of the foreign ministers and stage a meeting to discuss cooperation in the sphere of infrastructure.
They also want to focus on cooperation in the “innovative and creative” economy through cooperation in research and development, science, technologies and innovations.
The five countries pledged to support one another in teaching their languages.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he is convinced that the V4 succeeded in presenting itself as an exceptionally trustworthy mark.
He said the region is very interesting for foreign investments also because the V4 countries are the engine of economic growth in Europe.
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said cooperation with South Korea can help Central European countries attain an even faster economic development.
She said there is a huge potential in technologies, investments as well as in cultural exchange.
Park praised the V4 countries´ experience in the transition to democracy and their support for the effort to attain a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.
She said the V4 has completed successful transformation and the economy of all of its member countries has been growing.
This is a model and inspiration for a peaceful process on the Korean Peninsula, she said.
