The French leader is heading to South Korea for negotiations on trade, technology and security as part of his tour of Asia.
French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Seoul on Friday for a two-day visit, where he will hold summit talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. The two leaders are expected to sign several memoranda of understanding aimed at consolidating co-operation, the South Korean president’s office said.
“The two leaders plan to discuss cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, nuclear energy, as well as science and technology, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a statement.
In Seoul, negotiations will also cover international issues, including security on the Korean Peninsula and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the presidential office said.
Prior to his trip to South Korea, the French President held talks in Tokyo with the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, agreeing to deepen co-operation on critical mineral supply chains, civil nuclear technology and artificial intelligence. Both countries will also coordinate efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas supplies.
The meeting will mark the third face-to-face exchange between Lee and Macron after talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada last June and the G20 summit in South Africa last November, whilst the visit to South Korea will be his first since taking office in 2017 and the first by a French president in 11 years. Meanwhile, South Korea will be hosting its first European leader since Lee took office.
France and South Korea are marking the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The two countries established official ties in 1886 with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between France and the Joseon Dynasty.
