Leaders from Korea and four Central European countries came together for summit talks on Dec. 3 in Prague.

The Visegrad Group, or V4, is an alliance of four Central European states: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. This summit marked the first time that a Korean leader met with the V4, and President Park Geun-hye was able to meet Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico first-hand.



During the summit, President Park and the V4 prime ministers discussed the deepening of relations between their nations. President Park outlined a path which Korea and the Visegrad Group could take to strengthen cooperation. It includes: seeking unity and unification; achieving mutual prosperity; carrying out cultural enrichment policies; and, lastly, enhancing partnerships covering global and regional governance.

The summit consolidated Korea’s commitment to developing multi-level, multi-aspect partnerships with the four nations and, also, its commitment to laying a foundation to expand the nation’s horizon of multilateral cooperation, beyond ASEAN and into Central Europe.

Following the talks, the five leaders adopted a joint statement under which they will enhance mutual cooperation across a wide range of areas, including infrastructure and energy, the creative industries, trade and investment, the defense industries, international cooperation and policies concerning the achievement of peace across the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

For the full text of the Korea-V4 joint statement, please see the attached file, below.

By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap News
whan23@korea.kr