Yoon to support Busan’s World Expo bid in Paris, visit Vietnam

Diplomacy

Published: 13 Jun. 2023, 18:49 Updated: 18 Jun. 2023, 21:46

Yoon to support Busan’s World Expo bid in Paris, visit Vietnam

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, announces plans to visit Paris to promote Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan during a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will attend the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris next week to promote Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

The presidential office announced that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee will be making a six-day, two-leg overseas trip starting Monday that will take them to France to promote the Expo bid and Vietnam for a state visit meant to bolster economic ties.

During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon announced his plans to visit Paris to attend the BIE general assembly in person and stressed that the central and local governments and the private sector have "made all-out efforts as one team" for a successful bid.

"The presentation at the general assembly attended by all 179 member states will be an opportunity to show our differentiated vision of a Busan Expo," Yoon said, ordering his Cabinet to do their best to support such efforts.

He added he has requested support from each foreign leader he has met.

The 179-member BIE general assembly meets next Tuesday and Wednesday in Paris. The fourth competition presentation comes ahead of the final selection in November.

Also competing for the 2030 World Expo bid are Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Ukraine's Odesa and Italy's Rome.

Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, outlined the details of Yoon's trip in a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, Yoon will attend presentations given by the four countries competing to host the 2030 World Expo.

Korean singer Psy of hit song "Gangnam Style" fame will be among the Korean figures giving a speech at the BIE assembly to support Busan's bid alongside the president, according to sources informed about the event.

On Wednesday, Yoon will attend an official World Expo reception hosted by Korea to rally support from foreign dignitaries, according to Kim.

Yoon will also hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace in Paris that day.

After the summit, Yoon will have met with the leaders of all Group of 7 countries and the EU within the past two months.

"At the Korea-France summit, the two leaders will discuss how to harmoniously develop their respective Indo-Pacific strategies and contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity," Kim said. "As a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council from 2024 to 2025, we will also discuss ways to promote cooperation on international security issues with France, a permanent member of the Security Council."

He added, "The universal values of freedom, human rights and rule of law pursued by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration originated in France, and there will be in-depth conversations during this summit on expanding cooperation between the two countries through a value alliance."

During his visit to France, Yoon will also hold a dialogue with innovative future generations, attend an investment event with European high-tech companies and take part in a digital vision forum.

About 150 Korean and French youths are scheduled to attend the dialogue for future generations, including young entrepreneurs, at Station F, the world's biggest start-up campus. The digital vision forum will be held at Sorbonne University in Paris, where experts will discuss initiatives to establish new digital norms on the global level.

A 19-member business delegation will attend the BIE general assembly alongside the president, including the leaders of Korea's top conglomerates, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Korean singer Psy, pictured at a movie screening event in Seoul last month, will be attending the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) general assembly next week to support Busan's World Expo bid. [NEWS1]

From Thursday, Yoon will head to Vietnam for a three-day state visit, making his first bilateral trip to a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean.

He will be accompanied by a 205-member business delegation to Vietnam, Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said in a press briefing.

Yoon's largest-ever economic delegation includes Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other top Korean business figures.

On Friday, Yoon will hold a bilateral summit with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong. The leaders will take part in a welcoming ceremony, discuss ways to deepen bilateral relations upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership upgraded last year and attend a state dinner.

Yoon will also hold meetings with Vietnam's top leadership, including General Secretary of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

He will also attend a series of business events, meet with Koreans living in Vietnam, take part in cultural events and visit local industrial facilities.

The Korea-Vietnam business forum will be attended by some 500 businesspeople from the two countries, and Yoon will reflect on the economic achievements and present a partnership vision for the next 30 years, such as enhancing trade vitality and advancing cooperative relations, according to Choi.

Choi stressed that the state visit to Vietnam, Korea's third-largest trading partner, will focus on expanding service and infrastructure exports, supporting the solidarity of the future generations of the two countries and strengthening digital leadership.

He noted around 9,000 Korean companies in the Vietnam market are the "backbone of economic cooperation" between the two countries, contributing to the creation of 700,000 local jobs and to Vietnam's exports and GDP.

This comes as Korea pushes its Indo-Pacific strategy first announced last December. The Yoon administration's initiative seeks to promote freedom, peace and prosperity in the region.

During the trip, Yoon will meet with young researchers and entrepreneurs working at the Vietnam Samsung R&D Center and Vkist, or the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology, established as an official development assistance project.

The two sides are also expected to sign a series of memoranda of understanding in areas including supply chain cooperation such as rare metals, infrastructure exports and new industrial technology.

"Korea and Vietnam have mutually complementary economies," Kim said. "The two countries hold the goal of achieving $150 billion in trade by 2030. With the occasion of the state visit, we will expand the horizon of cooperation to new fields such as core mineral supply chains, new and renewable energy, innovative science and technology and smart cities so that the economic activities of the two countries can be carried out even more actively."

Last December, then-Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc made a state visit to Korea as the two countries marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]