Thank you for joining us on Arirang News. I’m Kim Bo-kyoung.
We start with President Yoon’s trip to the Czech Republic right after the Chuseok holiday next Thursday.
This follows South Korea’s consortium recently chosen as the preferred bidder for a nuclear power plant in Dukovany.
Our top office correspondent Kim Do-yeon explains in detail.
Nuclear Power Alliance.
A new term was coined as the top office prepares for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official visit to the Czech Republic starting next Thursday.
This trip comes as, last July, the Czech government chose Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear power units in Dukovany a project worth 24 trillion Korean won or about 17.3 billion U.S. dollars.
“The President, during this official visit to the Czech Republic, will convey Team Korea’s firm commitment to the successful completion of the nuclear power plant project and will actively engage in sales diplomacy as the nation’s number one salesman, to secure the contract. Especially, a nuclear power alliance between South Korea and the Czech Republic is expected to be established through this visit.”
The four-day visit will start with an official welcoming ceremony in Prague and a summit with Czech President Petr Pavel with an official dinner banquet.
On Friday, he will meet with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and visit the city of Pilsen to visit nuclear power production companies.
Coming back to Prague with the Prime Minister, Yoon will sign MOUs for various fields including trade, investment, and advanced technology.
He will also meet with the leaders of both chambers of the Czech parliament.
And as he always does, he will meet with overseas nationals in the region for dinner.
This trip has been much anticipated after the preferred bidder announcement that paves the way for more cooperation in advanced technology.
In fact, for this trip the pre-trip briefing was attended by the President’s senior secretary for science and technology something unprecedented and seemingly a move to highlight more cooperation in science and technology.
“We intend to use this nuclear power collaboration as an opportunity to initiate full-scale scientific and technological cooperation between South Korea and the Czech Republic. First, we plan to resume the Korea-Czech Joint Committee on Science and Technology, which has been inactive for some time, elevate the status of the chief representatives to the director-general level, and formalize regular meetings every two years.”
The Czech Republic is also known for its manufacturing capacities, especially in automobiles.
More than 100 companies from South Korea are already operating in the country, and to enhance economic exchanges, the two nations are set to sign a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework during this trip.
Also, the two are set to discuss cooperation in helping Ukraine amid the prolonged invasion by Russia, as Czech companies have extensive experience in working in Ukraine.
Meanwhile Yoon will also be accompanied by a business delegation made up of officials from more than 50 South Korean companies from conglomerates to small businesses.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=276038
