President Halimah Yacob met the new President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul today. President Halimah conveyed her warm wishes to the new President. President Halimah and President Yoon expressed confidence that the warm and friendly relations between Singapore and the ROK will be further strengthened in the coming years. They identified several areas where bilateral cooperation can be further enhanced, in particular, digitalisation, air connectivity and people-to-people exchanges. President Yoon agreed to look into the possibility of increasing flights between the two countries.
Both leaders welcomed the conclusion of the Korea-Singapore Digital Partnership Agreement, which is the first digital economy agreement between Asian countries, and looked forward to its signing soon.
President Halimah and President Yoon emphasised the importance of strengthening regional economic integration through plurilateral arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. They also discussed the ROK’s interest to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.
President Halimah welcomed President Yoon’s commitment to expand and broaden cooperation with ASEAN. They discussed the situation in Myanmar, in particular, the humanitarian crisis and the need for the full and expeditious implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. On developments on the Korean Peninsula, President Halimah reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to work closely with the ROK and the international community to achieve peace and stability in the region.
President Halimah and Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee attended a banquet dinner hosted by President Yoon this evening. Earlier in the day, they attended President Yoon’s inauguration ceremony.
President Halimah will return to Singapore tomorrow.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
10 MAY 2022