Photo ©Agency for Strategic Initiatives

News from Berlin - During her German diplomatic visit last week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin to discuss German-Korean economic relations. The bilateral talks, held on March 27th, outlined opportunities for closer cooperation between Germany and the Republic of Korea. With over 200 German and Korean businesses present at the reception, the meeting was the focal point of the economic programme which formed part of President Park’s state visit.

South Korea is Germany’s most important Asian trading partner, behind China and Japan. Likewise, Germany is Korea’s most important European trading partner, exporting more than 14 billion euros and importing around 8 billion euros of product from South Korea in 2013. Minister Gabriel also met with the Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Dr Yoon Sang-jick, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, particularly within the context of the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs. This programme provides funding to small and medium-sized enterprises with business operations in Germany, with the aim to establish new or improved products, operations or technical services.

Federal Minister Gabriel stressed the importance of improving and diversifying economic relations with South Korea, encouraging SMEs to expand into the Korean market. He highlighted the need for closer cooperation between German and Korean businesses, new open markets, security of investment and capitalising on economic opportunities, particularly in technology-intensive sectors.

News from Berlin - Berlin Global