Gezamenlijke verklaring van Nederland en de Republiek Korea (Engelstalig) naar aanleiding van de virtuele ontmoeting tussen minister-president Rutte en president Moon

Diplomatieke verklaring | 07-07-2021

Joint Press Statement between the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte and the President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in, on the Occasion of the Virtual Summit, 7 July 2021.

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mark Rutte and the President of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Moon Jae-in, held a Virtual Summit on 7 July 2021.

This year, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. Both leaders look back with great satisfaction on the development of the bilateral relations over the past 60 years in a wide variety of fields including economy, science and technology, culture and education. The leaders discussed the possibilities of further enhancing the existing excellent bilateral relations, based on the comprehensive and future-oriented partnership between the two countries.
The Netherlands and the Republic of Korea enjoy long-standing friendly ties and share a partnership underpinned by mutual commitment to universal values of democracy, human rights, rule of law and support for multilateralism.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the strong economic relations developed in recent decades. The Netherlands is the second largest European trading partner for the Republic of Korea. Despite the constraints of the pandemic, the trade volume has reached US$ 10.2 billion in 2020. Mutual investments contribute substantially to economic cooperation. The Netherlands is the largest European investor in Korea, while the Netherlands is the second destination within the EU for Korean investments.
The leaders underscored the crucial importance of a rules-based trading system, open markets, a level playing field and supply chain resilience to achieve a sustainable global economy. The leaders further decided to promote bilateral trade relations and investments, using the geo-economic strength of both countries, with the Netherlands as gateway to Europe and Korea as bridgehead for the Asian market.
Both leaders discussed the importance of prosperity, peace and security in the region and emphasised the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific. President Moon welcomed the Dutch guidelines for the Indo Pacific and the Dutch efforts, also within the EU, to invest in practical cooperation with regional partners. Prime Minister Rutte welcomed Korea’s New Southern Policy and supported Korean government’s efforts to promote sustainable growth in the region. Both leaders agreed to explore harmonious cooperation between Korea’s New Southern Policy and Dutch guidelines on Indo-Pacific.
The leaders noted that both countries are natural partners in tackling global challenges through cooperation on the international stage. They share common universal values of democracy, human rights, rule of law and support for multilateralism. The leaders also discussed ways to deepen their partnership in the areas of cyber security, non-proliferation and maritime peace and security.
Both countries will strengthen their cooperation in the field of low carbon green economy and digital economic innovation. They aim to create a proactive partnership in the fields of renewable energy, hydrogen economy, solar and wind energy, smart agriculture, semiconductors and digital economy. In particular, both countries agreed to strengthen their cooperation on semiconductor supply chain, recognizing each other as core partners in the field of semiconductors. In doing so, they use their shared strength in progressive industries to successfully assume a leading role in the area of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
President Moon congratulated Prime Minister Rutte on successfully hosting the Climate Adaptation Summit in January 2021. Prime Minister Rutte expressed his appreciation for the leadership shown by Korea in hosting Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Seoul Summit in May 2021. The Leaders agreed to look for active cooperation to achieve the goal of inclusive green recovery and carbon neutrality as agreed at the P4G Summit.
Both leaders support the efforts of the international community in addressing climate and environmental challenges including at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow in November this year.
Both leaders underscored the importance of universal, fair and rapid access to vaccines which is of vital importance to successfully overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. They welcomed any initiative to achieve that goal in a positive way including Korea’s global vaccine hub initiative. Korea and the Netherlands underscored the importance to scale up capacity in vaccine production. To that end, the leaders welcomed the World Local Production Forum in 2022 hosted by the Netherlands aimed at strengthening production capacity in different regional hubs.
Leaders discussed the possibilities of strengthening cooperation in the fields of security, defense and veterans' affairs. President Moon also took the opportunity to thank the Dutch Government and people for their contributions and sacrifices during the Korean War. In response, Prime Minister Rutte expressed his deep appreciation for the tireless efforts of the Korean Government to commemorate the Dutch veterans and fallen soldiers and to repatriate the remains of Dutch soldiers.
Both leaders reaffirmed their intention to closely consult and cooperate to help advance international peace and stability, based on the obligations and commitments under international law. The leaders discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Prime Minister Rutte affirmed the Netherlands’ support to the Republic of Korea’s effort to engage with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to achieve peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
The leaders agreed to strengthen their cultural cooperation. The leaders emphasized the crucial importance of cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts for the friendship between the two countries. The Working Holiday Programme and international student exchanges were discussed as good foundations for future bilateral relations. This year marks a new beginning for another 60 years of friendship, with the leaders promising to take bold steps towards a common vision of peace and prosperity.