H.E. José de Matos Correia, Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic,
MP Vitalino Canas, Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group and all PFG members
H.E. Eurico Brilhante Dias, Secretary of State for Internationalization,
H.E. Enna Park, Deputy-Minister and Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea,
Mr. Hyeok-Jong Oh, President of KOTRA Europe, Distinguished participants,
Dear guests,
Thank you so much for your presence here today. I would particularly like to appreciate Vice-Speaker José de Matos Correia for his presence here today and for his constant encouragement.
I arrived in Portugal on November 22nd last year – almost one year ago! – and I presented my credentials to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on January 12th this year. Since my arrival, I have always wanted to hold a seminar like the one we are having here today, so I am truly delighted to be standing here today, in this beautiful auditorium, among such distinguished speakers and guests.
We all worked very hard to make this seminar come to life, but I can honestly say that without the Chairman of our Parliamentary Friendship Group, MP Vitalino Canas, we would not be standing here today. During the last 10 months MP Canas played a decisive role in planning this Seminar. Your tireless efforts are truly appreciated!
I would also like to thank the Speaker, H.E. Ferro Rodrigues, for his interest and encouragement. Unfortunately, his tight schedule didn’t allow him to join us today.
But I know that he believes, as we do, that this seminar is a meaningful step towards the further promotion of even closer bilateral relations between our countries.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1961, our two countries have maintained a rock solid relation in all areas: political, economic, social and cultural.
Portugal is also a key member of the EU, an organisation with which the Republic of Korea maintains very close ties, a so-called semi-alliance.
So far, North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and more than 20 medium and long range missile tests just this year, despite strong warnings from the international society and all diplomatic dissuasive efforts. Portugal is an unfaltering ally, always standing by us whenever North Korea violates international norms and commitments, including relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Currently the diplomatic relations between Portugal and North Korea are at a standstill, they are virtually non-existent.
Korea-Portugal relations are truly built on strong foundations and they keep on getting stronger and closer over the years. For me it was no coincidence that Mr. António Guterres took over from Mr. Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General.
Having said that, there is still much work to be done on the economic front. The trade volume between our two countries is tenuous considering our growth potential. Over the last couple of years trade and investment have been stagnant at 700 million US dollars, while accumulated investment has also been stuck at 800 million US dollars.
We can do better!
In order to correct this situation and improve it, all of us here today, together with the relevant agencies in both our countries are working on how to address this predicament. This seminar is part of these efforts and I have no doubt that the exchange of high level visits is extremely important.
In July a Portuguese delegation, headed by the Secretary of State for Internationalisation visited Korea. In September, the Secretary of State for Tourism visited Korea and the Secretary of State Assistant and for Trade was present at the ASEM Economy Ministers Meeting in Seoul. Recently, two Portuguese economic delegations had useful consultations with their counterparts, including KOIMA (Korea Import Association), KITA (Korea International trade Association) and ICAK (International Contractors Association of Korea).
In return several Korean delegations visited Portugal, among them: the visit of the Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, three parliamentary delegations, a Deputy Foreign Minister, the Vice-Chairman of the Korean Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the Vice Mayor of Busan, Korea’s second largest city, and a Constitutional Court Justice. Chairman Park Ki-poong of the International Contractors Association of Korea visited Lisbon and Porto last month and concluded MoUs with two Portuguese associations. I am sure that we will soon see the fruits of our hard work.
Our two countries are also looking for ways to increase the number of tourists. Last year there were over one hundred thousand Korean tourists here in Portugal. Among them, around 36 thousand were focused on visiting the Fátima sanctuary. Until the end of this year we expect a 20% increase in these numbers, considering the 100th anniversary of the Fátima apparitions. Portugal is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Koreans. However, the number of Portuguese tourists visiting Korea is not that high. We expect more Portuguese people to visit Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which start on February 9th and end on February 25th 2018.
Now the 2017 Web Summit is being held in Lisbon and Korea is strongly represented with over 30 IT Start-up companies. In addition, we have here Deputy Foreign Minister for Public Diplomacy, Ambassador Enna Park, who is attending this Seminar despite the short notice. I believe these fact are all positive signs that we are on the right track.
We already have many great ideas on how to enrich and enlarge our economic relations: a direct flight between our countries, technological cooperation in the IT area and in renewable energy, promotion of trade and investment, joint advancement to third countries, mainly targeting Africa and South America. We just need to work on how to turn these excellent ideas into reality.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is a very special bond between Portugal and Korea that some of you might not be aware of: the first westerner to set foot on Korea was João Mendes, a Portuguese trader. We also share a geographical connection, Cabo da Roca, located to the north of Lisbon, is the westernmost point of the Eurasian continent; Tomal (literally meaning the end of land), the easternmost point of Eurasia is located in Korea. Thus to all Koreans that visit Portugal, Cabo da Roca is a must see.
I arrived in Portugal at the dawn of a new development period. I will try my best to play a constructive role in the efforts to connect our two countries, even if they are on opposite points of Eurasia, we should not see each other as the beginning or the end, we should see each other as one.
I believe and rely on each and every one of you here today to actively cooperate towards our common goal of further developing our two countries. This seminar is a momentous occasion to share our wisdom for the improvement of our bilateral economic relations. Now I am ready to hear our experts and hope that at the end of this seminar we have many pragmatic ideas and suggestions to work on!
Thank you!
