SEOUL, Feb 11 (YONHAP/APP): South Korea and the Netherlands held the inaugural meeting of a high-level dialogue attended by their foreign affairs and trade ministers Wednesday, reaffirming their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in trade, economic security, artificial intelligence (AI) and other areas amid heightened global tensions, Seoul officials said.
The high-level dialogue brought together Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, with their respective Dutch counterparts, David van Weel and Aukje de Vries, in Seoul.
Following their talks, the ministers of the two countries issued a joint statement in which they reaffirmed the need to further deepen bilateral cooperation based on the countries’ strategic partnership against the backdrop of increasing geoeconomic tensions and rapid advancements in new technologies.
Seoul and The Hague have been working to strengthen cooperation in a wide range of areas from trade, economic security and the responsible use of AI in the military domain to semiconductors and critical mineral supply chains under their bilateral strategic partnership forged in 2022.
The ministers “affirmed that exchanges on supply-chain monitoring methods were considered a constructive step toward exploring future cooperation in strengthening the economic security of both countries,” the joint statement read.
They “underscored the need to further expand these initiatives going forward, while also proactively identifying new areas of economic security related cooperation, including in the trade domain,” it said.
The two sides agreed on the need to further explore cooperation related to the responsible use of AI in the military domain in a “safe and human-centric” approach. Last year, South Korea and the Netherlands co-hosted the first REAIM summit on addressing the responsible use of AI in the military fields.
Building on current collaborations, the two sides agreed to explore additional mutual investment opportunities in advanced technology ecosystems, while advancing joint research and development (R&D) projects in semiconductors and quantum technologies, the joint statement read.
They also agreed to work to identify new areas for cooperation in the domain of economic security, cybersecurity and critical mineral supply chains.
The second round of the 2+2 Foreign and Industry High-Level Dialogue between Korea and the Netherlands will be held in The Hague in 2028, according to Seoul officials.