Good evening. Thank you for joining us. I’m Yoon Jung-min.
President Yoon Suk Yeol begins his official state visit to the Netherlands today, starting with an array of royal engagements hosted by the Dutch king and queen, –with a key focus on forging a chip alliance.
He is about to attend a welcoming ceremony held in central Amsterdam before entering the palace.
Before we bring you the scenes live, we connect with our correspondent Oh Soo-young who is following the president’s state visit.
1. Hi Sooyoung. Let’s start with the opening ceremony. What are we about to see in a few moments?
We’re going to see President Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee welcomed by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, in Dam Square, considered the heart of Amsterdam, where the opulent Royal Palace is located, as well as the National Monument.
There will be an introduction of the delegations, followed by the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy playing the national anthems of both countries, and then an inspection of an honor guard.
Once they’re in the Palace grounds, representatives of the Dutch authorities will be introduced to the South Korean president, before a reception is held.
Then the first couple will have a private lunch with the King and Queen.
2. Now, what do the rest of the President’s royal engagements look like for the rest of the day? And also tell us about the significance of this state visit.
There will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Monument, in the same Dam Square, and later today in the evening, the first couple will attend an official state banquet with the king and queen at the Royal Palace.
The president and Dutch king will both make speeches at the event, celebrating the first state visit to the Netherlands by a president of South Korea since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1961.
The king and queen visited South Korea in 2014, and in November last year, President Yoon and Prime Minister Mark Rutte agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership.
So this trip signifies a deepening relationship, particularly in areas crucial to both national and economic security for both sides, as they will partner in semiconductors and other high-tech areas such as Artificial Intelligence, as well as logistics and green energy.
We’ll see Yoon and Rutte ink MOUs tomorrow following bilateral talks at the Hague.
3. Yoon is also expected to visit the headquarters of ASML today. There’s a lot of anticipation building up around that.
That’s right. President Yoon upon his arrival emphasized that the focal point of his visit would be to forge a “semiconductor alliance” with the Netherlands, which is home to the world’s largest producer of lithography machines which is vital for making semiconductors –South Korea’s main export cash cow.
He will be joined by King Willem-Alexander, as well as the heads of South Korea’s global chip giants Samsung and SK hynix.
This is speculation of course, but they could be given a glimpse of ASML’s most advanced lithography machine capable of producing 2-nanometer chips.
This would be a very positive indicator for South Korean firms, as they aim to procure chip-making materials and equipment to boost their production capacity.
Thanks for that Soo-young.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=263083
