Republic of Korea - Conversation between Franck Riester and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo (3 September 2021)

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Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke by phone today with Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo.

They discussed deepening French-Korean economic relations in line with the approach taken by President Macron and his Korean counterpart at their last meeting in June 2021. The two ministers agreed to examine new areas of cooperation in future industrial and digital sectors ahead of the upcoming French-Korean Forum on Innovative Industries and the 18th meeting of the Committee on Industrial Cooperation.

Mr. Riester also underscored the importance of resuming visits between France and Korea to strengthen economic ties and trade between our two countries as companies from those countries take advantage of the recovery measures adopted by both countries.

The two ministers also addressed multilateral challenges facing trade ahead of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the end of the year, which should help move forward with reforms to that organization, making international trade fairer and more sustainable. They addressed the fight against carbon leakage at the global level in the context of progress on the European project of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The Minister reiterated that this mechanism, whose goal is exclusively environmental, is enshrined in the EU’s cooperation with its trading partners.