Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun on July 28 holds a phone conversation with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi at Government Complex-Seoul in the capital's Jongno-gu District. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By Lee Dasom

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 28 said Minister Cho Hyun held his first phone talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar since taking office and discussed raising bilateral cooperation.

Minister Cho thanked his Chinese counterpart for congratulating him on the former's appointment and said he hoped to work closely together to develop bilateral ties.

Both sides reaffirmed their committment to continous development of their strategic cooperation partnership and agreed to make the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in late October in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, a new turning point in the advancement of Korean-Chinese ties.

Minister Cho invited Minister Wang to visit Korea, to which the latter said he would do so at a convenient time for the two countries.

In his talks with Minister Jaishankar, Minister Cho reaffirmed Seoul's intent to bolster bilateral ties and proposed continued efforts to hold exchanges between high-level officials and strengthen mutually beneficial and practical cooperation.

Minister Jaishankar said both countries should boost their special strategic partnerhship, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, and make concerted efforts to expand strategic economic cooperation between the two sides.

They also agreed to widen the scope of bilateral strategic cooperation and maintain close communication between foreign ministers.

dlektha0319@korea.kr