1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu, together with Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Teresa Ribeiro of Portugal, held the fifth Republic of Korea-Portugal policy consultation and a luncheon in Seoul on May 25. In their meeting, the two senior diplomats discussed ways to step up bilateral relations and substantive cooperation; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe; and ways to work together on the international stage.

2. The two sides shared the view that the ROK-Portugal relations have stably advanced in various areas, including political affairs, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges, since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1961; and hailed the deepening bilateral ties, as can be seen from the recent growth in the two-way trade volume and Korean companies’ investment in Portugal, and from some 120,000 Koreans estimated to have visited Portugal in 2017.

° Deputy Minister Yoon took note of the robust high-level exchanges between the two countries, including National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun’s official visit to Portugal in January, the fifth meeting of the joint economic commission in Lisbon in February, and the fifth policy consultation.

° The two sides agreed to increase substantive cooperation in such sectors as new and renewable energy, information and communications technology (ICT), and public administration; and, in particular, voiced hope that the bilateral agreement on air services signed on May 25 will help to further boost exchanges between peoples of the two countries.

※ The ROK-Portugal trade volume reached $540 mln in 2013, $670 mln in 2014, $730 mln in 2015, $670 mln in 2016, $730 mln in 2017 and $230 mln from January till March 2018, up 37.2% from that over the same period in 2017.

- The ROK’s exports to Portugal amounted to $330 mln in 2013, $490 mln in 2014, $530 mln in 2015, $440 mln in 2016, $460 mln in 2017 and $140 mln from January till March 2018, up 40.4% from that over the same period in 2017.

- The ROK posted in imports from Portugal $200 mln in 2013, $180 mln in 2014, $200 mln in 2015, $230 mln in 2016, $270 mln in 2017 and $80 mln from January till March 2018, up 26.5% from that over the same period in 2017.

※ The ROK’s investment in Portugal until the end of the year 2017 stood at a combined $326 mln in 63 cases (mostly sales entities), with Portugal’s investment in the ROK over the same period amounting to a combined $504 mln in 27 cases (services and manufacturing).

3. Deputy Minister Yoon shared with his Portuguese counterpart the outcome of the inter-Korean and ROK-US summit talks, held on April 27 and May 22, respectively, and other developments regarding the Korean Peninsula; and extended appreciation to Portugal for hailing the inter-Korean summit talks and the Panmunjeom Declaration and for strongly supporting the ROK government’s efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

° Secretary of State Ribeiro spoke of Portugal’s plan to remain supportive of the ROK government’s work toward the denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

4. Deputy Minister Yoon, bringing attention to the close ROK-Portugal cooperation on the international stage, including support for each other’s bids to build presence at international organizations, suggested that the two countries work more closely not only to enhance bilateral relations but also on such global issues as human rights, environment and sustainable development.

5. The fifth policy consultation, which came about two years after the fourth of its kind held in Seoul in June 2016, is seen to have served as an opportunity to review overall bilateral relations and to explore ways to step up substantive cooperation.

* unofficial translation