1. During her visit to Bratislava, the Slovak Republic, for a Republic of Korea-Visegrad Group (V4) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on June 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz. In the meeting, the two Ministers discussed the way forward for the Republic of Korea-Republic of Poland relations; substantive cooperation; and cooperation on the international stage.

2. Minister Czaputowicz conveyed deep sympathy to the Korean people over the recent boat accident in the Danube River in Hungary; and stated that the Polish government, on its part, will cooperate actively in handling the aftermath of the accident.

° Minister Kang extended appreciation to the Polish government for its heartfelt sympathy and to LOT Polish Airlines for its proposal to render assistance in handling the aftermath of the accident; and asked the Polish government to continue to pay attention and cooperate until the end of the search operations for the missing.

3. The two Ministers agreed to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the ROK and Poland that mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019; and to work together for the various projects, underway in the two countries to mark the diplomatic anniversary, to help increase mutual understanding and exchanges between the two countries.

4. Minister Kang, welcoming the growing economic cooperation with Poland, the ROK’s top trade partner and investment destination in Central-Eastern Europe, voiced hope that bilateral cooperation will expand to the fields of the defense industry and the construction of new airports and nuclear power plants.

° In addition, Minister Kang extended appreciation to Poland for supporting the ROK’s position in the process of the European Union (EU) deciding to impose definitive safeguard measures on certain steel products; and asked the country to render assistance to ensure that in the EU’s future review process, the quota for the ROK’s steel is expanded.

5. Minister Czaputowicz welcomed active investment of Korean enterprises in Poland, expressing interest in cooperation with highly reliable Korean companies that have accumulated advanced technology and experiences on energy and in the construction of large-scale infrastructure facilities.

6. The two Ministers expressed satisfaction with the smooth progress in the ROK-Visegrad joint research underway between outstanding science and technology researchers of the ROK and Poland; and voiced hope that cooperation between the two countries on science and technology will move further forward.

7. The second ROK-Poland foreign ministerial meeting held in 2019 is seen to have served as a useful opportunity to discuss ways to further advance the ties between the two countries that mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019.

* unofficial translation