President Park Geun-hye presented her vision for economic cooperation at the Korea-Switzerland Business Forum on January 21.

In her congratulatory remarks, President Park said that Korea and Switzerland have many things in common, as the two countries have both overcome a barren natural environment and geopolitical demerits by focusing on human creativity, the opening of markets and by investing in human resources. “If the two countries can share such wisdom and ability, the two sides can together make a brighter future,” said President Park.

“The core of a creative economy lies in creating more jobs and new markets by combining science and IT with new ideas that are based on boundless creativity and not limited by resources. That is the foundation for growth,” she said. President Park emphasized that creativity and innovation are the best growth engines for countries that don’t have enough natural resources, like Korea or Switzerland. She said that the two countries can create new opportunities if their firms expand investment in each other’s economies and help each other enter third markets. For small- and medium-sized firms in Switzerland, she said, investing in Korea would help them achieve further growth and enter global markets.




Swiss President Didier Burkhalter said in his speech that Korea is a “meaningful partner and an economic leader with bright prospects and future growth potential.” The Swiss leader showed his strong interest in President Park’s vision for the creative industries by saying that, “Technology is an infinite resource and innovation potential based on ideas will never run out though time goes on.”

“For countries which lack natural resources, like Switzerland and Korea, innovation is the source of wealth-creation," said President Burkhalter. The Swiss leader urged that people, researchers and firms need to pursue ceaseless innovation. He stressed the importance of talented human resources being armed with knowledge and expertise and said that companies need to encourage them to come up with creative ideas. He also emphasized bilateral cooperation between Korea and Switzerland, saying that the two countries would be able to create infinite growth potential through a free trade agreement.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr