Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka.The diplomatic relations between Russia and South Korea were established on September 30, 1990.
South Korea is one of Russia's priority partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Regular high-level contacts between the two countries play an important role in the development of bilateral cooperation.
Putin's visit to Seoul in November 2013 was of fundamental importance for the bilateral relations. After the high-level talks, the parties signed a package of documents on bilateral cooperation in various fields.
The first meeting between Putin and Moon was held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany's Hamburg on July 7, 2017.
From September 6-7, 2017, Moon came to Russia to take part in the events of the third Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Vladivostok. The South Korean leader was invited to the forum as a chief guest. The parties signed a package of documents following the talks.
From June 21-23, 2018, Moon paid a state visit to Russia. The most important aspects of bilateral cooperation, as well as approaches to resolving pressing international issues were discussed during the high-level negotiations. The meeting resulted in adopting a Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea and in signing a package of inter-agency and corporate documents.
On September 12, 2018, Putin met with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on the margins of the Eastern Economic Forum to discuss key aspects of bilateral cooperation and approaches to solving certain international issues.
Putin met with Moon once again on November 14, 2018, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore.
Moscow and Seoul maintain fruitful cooperation between their security councils and governments. The foreign ministries of the two states also maintain active contacts.
On February 15, 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Lavrov and Kang saw each other again and held negotiations during Kang's working visit to Moscow from June 16-17, 2019.
Interparliamentary contacts play an important role in the development of Moscow-Seoul bilateral relations.
In October 2018, the Russian parliament's upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko visited South Korea and was received by Moon. The council speaker and Russian senators also met with the leadership of South Korea's National Assembly and with representatives of the country's businesses and scientific community.
From May 28-29, 2019, South Korea's parliament speaker Moon Hee-sang came to Russia for an official visit, during which the first meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Russian parliament's lower house and the South Korean unicameral legislature took place.
As stated above, a high level of cooperation is also maintained by the security councils of the two countries. On April 25, 2019, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev paid a working visit to Seoul.
From March 25-26, 2019, Kim Hyun-chong, the deputy director of the South Korean National Security Office, visited Moscow as a special envoy of the country's president.
National ministries and departments also maintain contacts.
An extensive contractual and legal framework for bilateral cooperation has been created by the two states more than 50 agreements covering trade, investment, fishing, military and technical cooperation, peaceful use of nuclear energy, culture, and others have been concluded. An agreement between the two countries waiving visa requirements for stays of up to 60 days came into force on January 1, 2014.
Seoul ranks eighth among Russia's leading foreign trade partners and second among Russia's Asian trade partners.
Russia-South Korea Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation plays a central role in the development of bilateral economic ties. A regular meeting of the commission was held in Seoul on June 7, 2018.
At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in 2017, Moon proposed to build "nine bridges" between Korea and Russia, referring to gas, railway, the Northern Sea Route, shipbuilding, the creation of working groups, agriculture and other types of cooperation.
In June 2018, the presidents of the two countries adopted a joint statement on the establishment of a free trade area between the countries.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, Russia-South Korea trade in 2018 amounted to $24.8 billion, showing an increase of 29.1 percent compared with the previous year. Russia's exports to South Korea reached $17.8 billion, while imports totaled $7 billion.
Trade between Russia and South Korea in the first quarter of this year already reached $8.4 billion, including $5.8 billion in Russian exports and $2.6 billion in imports.
Mineral products account for more than 80 percent of Russia's exports. Other export items include food and agricultural raw materials; metals and metal products; chemicals; wood, pulp and paper products and others.
More than 60 percent of Russian imports are machines, equipment and transport vehicles. Russia's imports also include chemicals, metals and metal products, food and agricultural raw materials.
Korean investments in the Russian economy amount to $1.2 billion. More than 150 largest South Korean companies are represented in the Russian market and invest in various sectors of the country's economy, including industry, food and agriculture, and hotel business.
Nevertheless, energy is a key area of bilateral cooperation. In 2017, South Korean consumers received 12.5 million tons of oil, about 2 million tons of liquefied natural gas and 26 million tons of coal.
In turn, South Korean companies contribute to the development of Russian hydrocarbon deposits in the Arctic. Some 15 ice-class gas tankers are being built at South Korean shipyards for the transportation of gas from the Yamal LNG enterprise, 10 of them have already been built. The possibility of participation of the South Korean partners in the project for the extraction and liquefaction of gas, the Arctic LNG-2, is discussed.
Examples of successful investment cooperation include the efficient auto plant Hyundai Motor in St. Petersburg, a Samsung Electronics home appliances plant in the Kaluga Region, an LG Electronics factory in the city of Ruza in the Moscow Region, and a Lotte hotel Group and shopping mall in Moscow.
The priority direction of economic cooperation between Russia and South Korea is the implementation of development plans for the regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East. The issues of South Korean participation in different projects are being worked out, in particular, the participation in projects carried out in the free port of Vladivostok. The two countries' cooperation also aims to involve South Korea in cooperation within the Arctic Council, including the involvement of the country's shipping companies in the development of the Northern Sea Route, and the business representatives' participation in the development of its infrastructure.
South Korea and Russia are also negotiating a South Korean project on the construction of a fish processing and logistics complex in Vladivostok.
Russian-Korean humanitarian contacts are steadily developing, including in the field of education. About 100 Russian students, teachers, and scientists annually visit Korea for various educational programs. Citizens of South Korea are studying in Russia both at the expense of the Russian federal budget and on a full compensation basis.
The Russian-Korean Cultural Year will be held in 2020.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, more than 302,000 Russian tourists visited South Korea in 2018. The most popular destinations for Russians are Seoul and Busan, as well as the resort island of Jeju. Meanwhile, many Russian citizens come to South Korea as "medical tourists" to receive treatment.
According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, more than 300,000 tourists from South Korea visited Russia in 2018, which is 44 percent more than in the previous year.
