Elevating strategic partnerships

The recent EU-South Korea Summit in Seoul shows that this strategic relationship is being raised to a new level.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in Seoul on May 22. (Source: YONHAP)

Despite being thousands of kilometers apart, the EU and South Korea are quite close. The proof is that while the EU has only recently signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asian countries, such as Japan (February 2019), Singapore (November 2019), Vietnam (August 2020), the FTA between the EU and South Korea was signed in 2010.

For the EU, the land of kimchi is a market for many important export items such as raw materials, spare parts, equipment, agricultural products, household appliances, luxury goods, etc. The world's leading chip power is also the factor that saves the EU from the serious shortage of semiconductors that has hindered the operations of European companies in many fields, from car manufacturing to broadband provision.

Meanwhile, key Korean products such as cars, batteries and chemicals have long enjoyed an upper hand over many of their trade rivals thanks to the FTA with the EU. Also thanks to blockbuster arms deals, such as the $5.8 billion deal with Poland, South Korea is aiming to become one of the world’s top four arms suppliers, alongside the US, Russia and France.

Therefore, it is not surprising that this Seoul Summit achieved many commitments. The two sides agreed to launch a green partnership, promote cooperation in responding to climate change, environmental protection, green transformation, digital... These are important orientations that can help solve the challenges that both sides are facing, such as the risk of recession and trade deficit of Korea, or the possibility of the EU falling behind in the field of chip manufacturing.

Although they do not call each other allies, some of the contents of the EU-South Korea Strategic Partnership actually have that nature.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/eu-han-quoc-nang-tam-doi-tac-chien-luoc-228450.html