Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea-Serbia Business Conference

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the Korea-Serbia Business Conference with Serbia’s Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirović on September 26 in Seoul to discuss promising joint projects in information technology, bio, energy, and critical minerals supply chains. The conference was attended by representatives of relevant institutions, including KOTRA, KITA, KOMIR, and Hyundai E&C. date2024-09-26

Korea and Zimbabwe discuss cooperation as follow-up to Korea-Africa Summit

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong held talks with Zimbabwe's Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Amon Murwira on September 24 in Seoul and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, and energy.   date2024-09-26

Korea and Zimbabwe discuss trade, investment, and energy cooperation as follow-up to Korea-Africa Summit

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong held talks with Zimbabwe's Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Amon Murwira on September 24 in Seoul on the occasion of the Zimbabwean minister’s visit for follow-up to the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, and energy. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1994, Korea and Zimbabwe have continuously worked together to maintain and develop favorable cooperative relations centering on development cooperation and people-to-people exchange in areas of agricultural technology and healthcare. Trade Minister Cheong remarked that their high-level exchanges have recently gained further traction, such as the Zimbabwean government delegation’s participation in the Korea-Africa Summit, and noted that the Korea-Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) agreement inked on the margins of the event have contributed to advancing the two countries’ relations towards a more tangible partnership. Minister Murwira showed interest in Korea’s development of its own Innovative Small Modular Reactor (i-SMR) for resolving Zimbabwe’s power shortages and the challenge of attaining net zero, to which the Korean trade chief suggested that the two countries discuss detailed cooperation measures as per future technological developments.   date2024-09-25

Trade Minister meets ASEAN Secretary-General

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong held bilateral talks with Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kao Kim Hourn on September 21 in Lao PDR and discussed economic cooperation measures. date2024-09-24

Trade Minister meets with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong held bilateral talks with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on September 21 in Lao PDR and discussed bilateral trade and investment measures. date2024-09-24

Trade Minister meets Swiss Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong held bilateral talks with Swiss Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Helene Budliger Artieda on September 20 in Lao PDR and discussed bilateral economic cooperation issues. date2024-09-24

Trade Minister meets UK Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong held bilateral talks with UK Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security Douglas Alexander on September 19 in Lao PDR and discussed bilateral economic cooperation issues. date2024-09-24

Minister Ahn holds talks with Czech Industry and Trade Minister

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela held talks on September 20 in Prague to discuss cooperation in trade, investment, supply chains, advanced manufacturing, carbon-free energy, and nuclear energy. date2024-09-23

Korea-Czech Republic Business Forum

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela attended the Korea-Czech Republic Business Forum on September 20 in Prague and took part in the ceremony for signing of 14 bilateral MOUs in future mobility, battery, and robot. date2024-09-23

Korea and Czech Republic hold 1st bilateral Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED)

Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela held the first bilateral Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED) on September 20 in Prague. The Korea-Czech SCED is Korea’s second ministerial-level consultative channel following the Korea-U.S. Supply Chain Commercial Dialogue (SCCD). As strategic partners, Korea and the Czech Republic agreed to further reinforce cooperation over supply chains and energy areas. Through the SCED, both sides reaffirmed the mutual importance of their global position in the industrial and energy supply chain and laid the groundwork for swift cooperation amid the growing urgency for energy security and increasing supply chain instabilities. During this first SCED meeting, the two trade and industry ministers shared areas of key interest per each cooperation sector and discussed measures to expand the scope of collaboration. For trade, investment, and supply chains, the two sides noted the rapidly increasing bilateral trade volume and diversification of trade items, seeking cooperation measures by sharing best practices of supply chain crisis response. In advanced industrial sectors, they discussed collaboration and R&D support for the three major high-tech areas—battery, robot, and future mobility. Regarding carbon-free energy, the ministers concurred on strengthening policy and technology exchange in areas of common interest such as hydrogen, energy storage systems (ESS), and energy efficiency. For nuclear energy, they agreed to continue effort towards realizing their shared vision of building the Czech nuclear reactor together. For joint action, they decided to discuss steps for joint entry into third countries among other cooperation measures. Lastly, Minister Ahn stated that the SCED will serve as an important cooperation channel closely connecting the two countries amid intensifying global uncertainties and the growing emphasis on energy security. He maintained that the director general-level consultative channel be established by the end of this year for discovering and discussing joint projects.   date2024-09-23