Buenos Aires, Aug 1 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said that South Korea and Argentina will usher in a new era of cooperation, saying closer bilateral collaboration is strategically more important than ever.
Lee made the remarks at a meeting on Friday (local time) with members of the South Korean community in Argentina, the final stop on his three-nation South America tour aimed at strengthening cooperation on critical mineral supply chains and others.
“I am confident that a new era of cooperation between Argentina and South Korea will fully unfold,” the president said.
“Amid the changing international order, from the artificial intelligence revolution to shifts in global supply chains, strategic bilateral cooperation is more important than ever,” he said.
Lee stressed that cooperation between South Korea and Argentina is entering a stage of tangible results, with bilateral collaboration expanding to critical minerals, including lithium, as well as energy and infrastructure, reports Yonhap news agency.
The remarks came after Lee held a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei earlier Friday, during which the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on critical minerals and South Korea’s imports of Argentine crude oil, beginning next year.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) toward that end was signed on the sidelines of a bilateral summit between the leaders of both nations.
Under the MOU, the two countries will share information on their respective policies regarding critical minerals and related investment systems, while promoting bilateral corporate investment and pursuing joint projects across the entire lithium value chain, including exploration and mining, according to National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac.
Seoul and Buenos Aires also agreed to cooperate to ensure stable exports of Argentine crude oil to South Korea, as South Korea plans to begin importing Argentine crude oil next year following a pilot shipment earlier this year, he said.
The move is expected to diversify South Korea’s crude oil import sources, which are currently concentrated in the Middle East, toward South America, helping mitigate the impact of geopolitical uncertainties while securing stable energy supplies, according to Wi.
–IANS
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