1. The Foreign Ministry held the sixth Republic of Korea-Georgia policy consultation in Seoul on March 23. In the meeting, the ROK and Georgian head delegates -- the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for European Affairs Jung Ki-hong and Deputy Foreign Minister George Sharvashidze, respectively, -- exchanged a wide range of views on ways to step up substantive cooperation in such sectors as trade, investment, energy, transportation and infrastructure, and to work together on the international stage; as well as on situations in diverse parts of the world.

2. The two sides shared the understanding that notwithstanding a short history of the ROK-Georgia diplomatic relations since their establishment on December 14, 1992, the two countries are seeing friendly and cooperative ties strengthen across the board; and noted with appreciation that the various cultural events held to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2017 had helped the two countries better understand each other to a great extent.

3. The two sides agreed to remain cooperative with each other in order to fulfill the potential for further bilateral trade and investment, and to render active assistance on the Nenskra hydropower plant construction project, the largest economic cooperation project between the two countries, for it to become a successful case of cooperation.

° Deputy Minister Sharvashidze, bringing attention to Georgia’s efforts to improve its investment environment, voiced hope that a larger number of Korean companies will invest in Georgia. Meanwhile, Director-General Jung expressed hope that Korean companies, which have state-of-the-art technology and building experiences, will continue to take part in transportation and infrastructure projects in Georgia, a transportation and logistics hub connecting Europe and Asia.

※ Nenskra hydropower plant project

- Capacity: 280 MW (annual generation: 1,219 GWh)

- Project cost/ Duration: 1.08 bil. dollars / 5 years of construction, 36 years of operation and management

- Project operator: K-Water and others (Build-Operate-Transfer contract)

- With the project agreement concluded in August 2015, the construction will start in 2018.

4. Director-General Jung, mentioning that the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the largest of their kind, had been successful, particularly extended appreciation to the Georgian government for taking an active part in the sporting event, including by dispatching its first-ever delegation to the Paralympic Games.

° Deputy Minister Sharvashidze voiced hope to see an increase in bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchanges, a foundation for future cooperation.

5. Director-General Jung, sharing with the Georgian side the recent progress in the inter-Korean relations, spoke of the ROK government’s efforts to use the momentum of inter-Korean dialogue built around the PyeongChang Olympics to create a new milestone toward peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Deputy Minister Sharvashidze responded by saying that the Georgian government strongly supports the ROK government’s efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.

* unofficial translation