President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 4 makes a joint news announcement after the Korea-Visegrad Group summit in Budapest, Hungary.

By Min Yea-Ji and Kim Hayeon
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae's official Facebook page

President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 5 arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, after completing his nine-day trip to three European countries.

He had left on Oct. 28 for visits to Rome, Italy, Glasgow, the U.K., and Budapest, Hungary. 

President Moon on Nov. 4 in Budapest completed the final event of his tour, a summit with the Visegrad Group, a regional cultural and political body comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. 

In a joint media statement following the second summit between Korea and the group with the leaders of all four countries, the president said, "Bilateral cooperation is strengthening primarily in such promising future industries as batteries for electric vehicles."

"We have achieved democratization and economic development at a fast pace, triumphing over the suffering brought by the Cold War and tribulations throughout history," he added. "We are also similar in that we have strengths in science and technology as well as manufacturing."

President Moon also mentioned science and technology, energy and infrastructure, and cultural and human exchanges.

He said both sides can lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution by combining Korea's highly competitive applied science including information and communication technology with the group's outstanding capacity in basic science. 

The chief executive also pledged to create growth opportunities in a carbon-neutral era by working together to foster a hydrogen economy and boost exchanges of youth, who will lead future cooperation.

"We shared our common understanding that the equitable distribution of vaccines is important for an inclusive recovery," he added.

At the joint news conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban explained the plan to build a high-speed rail spanning 800 km and connecting the capitals of the group's four nations: Budapest, Bratislava, (Slovakia), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). He also asked for active participation from Korean corporations with their advanced technologies.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called Korea his country's indispensable partner for future development and named innovative sectors like robotics, electric car batteries and chemicals as core areas of cooperation.

Held at Varkert Bazar (Castle Garden Bazaar) in Budapest, the summit is the only one of its kind between Korea and a regional group within the European Union. The first edition came in 2015. 

President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 4 makes a joint announcement after the Korea-Visegrad Group summit at the news conference room of Varkert Bazar (Castle Garden Bazaar) in Budapest, Hungary. From left are Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, President Moon, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

jesimin@korea.kr