President Park Geun-hye and French President Francois Hollande have agreed to expand cooperation by working together on the creative industries and on a vision of cultural enrichment. The two leaders also held summit talks and adopted a joint declaration to mark the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Paris.

The joint declaration contains the blueprint for future cooperation between Korea and France. In the joint declaration, the two leaders also reaffirmed their will to work together to lead North Korea toward giving up its nuclear weapons ambitions. The leaders also agreed to develop their comprehensive partnership and relationship not only at the bilateral level but also at the international level.

 
In the joint declaration, the two presidents agreed to bolster cooperation by working together on the creative industries and toward the goal of cultural enrichment. The countries will strengthen new industries, including biotech, IT, and cultural areas. The two leaders said in the declaration that, “Korea and France will encourage cooperation on the development of the creative economy, relying on science and advanced technologies, as well as the wealth of their respective cultural heritages.” The document also mentioned the French government’s “New France Industrial” policy and Korea’s engines of future economic growth and its policies to promote cultural prosperity. As an outcome of the summit, the governments signed a total of 27 memorandums of understanding.



President Park and President Hollande praised the “Year of Korea-France Bilateral Exchanges” that are marking the 130-year-old diplomatic relationship between the two capitals. In the declaration, they said, “The Year of France-Korea 2015-2016, under which are held major events, constitutes a remarkable opportunity to develop the comprehensive partnership between our two countries and facilitate mutual understanding and exchanges between our two peoples.” The two leaders also said that Korea and France will work together to boost cultural diversity and mutual understanding by expanding cultural exchanges, student exchanges among educational institutions and universities, language education of each other’s country, and exchanges in sports, broadcasting and overall partnerships.



Speaking on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue, the two nations stressed the importance of enforcing U.N. sanctions against North Korea as a means to coerce the North to give up its nuclear weapons. In a joint declaration, the two nations stated that they would uphold U.N. sanctions and take additional steps, if necessary, to make sure the North abandons its nuclear weapons program. Pressing the need for a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of the North's nuclear weapons and missiles, the two leaders vowed to work together "to monitor the situation in the North and enforce sanctions decided upon by the international community."

President Hollande reaffirmed France's support for President Park's "Initiative for a peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula," as well as her "Trust building process on the Korean Peninsula," her "Initiative for peace and cooperation across Northeast Asia" and her "Eurasia initiative."

Finally, the two nations agreed to strengthen cooperation on global issues, such as combating climate change, and to swiftly carry out the action plan outlined by the Paris Agreement, signed by 195 countries at the Paris climate conference (COP21). Moreover, the two sides stated that they would continue their joint efforts at providing developmental aid and promoting human rights as part of their global issues agenda.


By Yoon Sojung, Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
arete@korea.kr