President Lee: "Golden Age of Korea-Mongolia Relations… CEPA Reached in Principle"

President Lee Jae-myung, who is on a state visit to Mongolia, held a summit with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and stated, "The leaders of both countries have confirmed a shared vision to open a 'Golden Age of Korea-Mongolia relations' together and have adopted a joint declaration containing this direction."

President Lee made the remarks during a joint press conference following the summit on the afternoon of July 9 (local time) and introduced the specific outcomes of the meeting.

President Lee stated, "Both countries have agreed to expand cooperation in economy, trade, and investment, and to strengthen cooperation in supply chains and critical minerals." He added, "With the agreement in principle on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), we will join forces to achieve a trade volume of 1 billion dollars by 2030."

CEPA is a trade agreement that, like a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), includes market opening measures such as tariff elimination while also aiming to promote technical cooperation, human resource exchange, and investment facilitation.

South Korea and Mongolia upgraded their bilateral relationship to a 'Strategic Partnership' in 2021, but as there was no trade agreement to institutionally support the expansion of trade and investment, they have been pursuing the conclusion of a CEPA since November 2023.

Although there were several delays, President Lee's remarks suggest that the two countries have effectively reached an agreement on the CEPA, laying the groundwork for active trade expansion.

President Lee further explained, "We plan to broaden the scope of mutually beneficial and sustainable cooperation in various fields, including AI and digital transformation, advanced science and technology, logistics and infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, health and medical care, and development cooperation."

He also promised, "In particular, as health and medical cooperation is a field where the people of both countries can directly feel the results, we will contribute to improving the health and quality of life of the Mongolian people through related cooperation, including the project to build the second National Cancer Center."

Regarding cultural and human exchanges, he stated, "We will revitalize exchanges between our people in various fields and strive to expand mutual understanding based on the 'Roadmap for Promoting Human Exchange,' and we will create an environment for free exchange by strengthening cooperation in consular affairs."

Furthermore, the two sides agreed to continue honoring the historical assets shared by both countries, such as the patriot Lee Tae-joon who dedicated himself to the development of modern medicine in Mongolia, and to work together to pass on the ties between the two nations to future generations.

President Lee explained, "The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation for stability and development in the Northeast Asian region," adding, "We plan to expand cooperation in international organizations and on multilateral stages, and to cooperate in the election processes for international organizations, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ)."

There was also a mention of the Korean Peninsula issue.

President Lee said, "I spoke to President Khurelsukh about our government's initiative for peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, and he expressed his active agreement," adding, "I am grateful that he expressed his intention to always support our government's efforts for the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Mongolia was the second country to establish diplomatic ties with North Korea after the former Soviet Union and maintains amicable relations to this day.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.