1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hong-kyun, together with Deputy Director of the Directorate General for Bilateral Relations Goran Petrović and Assistant Minister for Multilateral Activities Mira Nikolić of the Serbian Foreign Ministry, held the fifth Republic of Korea-Serbia policy consultation in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 15. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on a wide range of matters, including ways to boost trade, investment and substantive cooperation; the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC); and the situations on the Korean Peninsula as well as in Northeast Asia and Southeast Europe.

2. The two sides took note of active high-level exchanges of late, as demonstrated by the bilateral Foreign Ministers’ meeting held on the sidelines of the Global Conference on Cyberspace 2015 in April. The ROK delegation agreed to work more closely on not only bilateral but also international issues with Serbia, which had embarked on negotiations with the EU in January 2014 for its accession to the bloc and is serving as the chair country of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2015.

3. The two sides shared the view that given Serbia’s geopolitical location as a gateway to the Balkan region, high quality human resources and high-level trade liberalization, the ROK and Serbia have great potential for bilateral trade and investment. They agreed to step up efforts to realize that potential.

◦ Deputy Minister Kim proposed that the two countries elevate the level of institutionalized economic cooperation. He went on to note that to that end, the two should seek to sign an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and another on air services at an early date; to work more closely together in agricultural and livestock industries; and to share the ROK’s experience in economic development. Meanwhile, Deputy Director Petrović expressed hope that in view of Serbia’s ongoing negotiations with the EU for its accession to the bloc and various socio-economic reforms, Korean companies would increase investment in the country and work with it in its energy sector.

◦ Deputy Minister Kim, bringing renewed attention to diverse cultural events held in 2014 in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations, proposed that the two countries work to enhance mutual understanding between their peoples through continued cultural exchanges, scholarship programs and the promotion of Korean studies in Serbia. Deputy Director Petrović positively responded to the proposal.

4. With regard to Japan’s nomination for the inscription of sites of its Meiji industrial revolution on the world heritage list, which will be up for discussion at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) set to take place in Bonn, Germany, in late June, Deputy Minister Kim spoke in detail about the position of the international community, including the majority of the WHC member states; the results of the two rounds of ROK-Japan meetings; and the ROK government’s basic position. He asked for support of Serbia, a member country of the WHC, in this regard.

◦ Deputy Director Petrović mentioned that Serbia feels empathy for the ROK’s position based on its own historical experiences. He expressed hope that the ROK and Japan would produce agreement in a way that complies with the spirit and the purpose of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

5. Deputy Minister Kim explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula, asking Serbia to maintain close collaboration with the ROK on North Korea issues. He also asked for Serbia’s attention to and support for such policies of the ROK government as the initiative for a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative and the Eurasia Initiative.

◦ Assistant Minister Nikolić and Deputy Director Petrović touched upon Serbia’s role as the OSCE chair and relevant plans, including that for the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting. Deputy Minister Kim extended appreciation to Serbia for its cooperation as the OSCE chair at the special session on the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative held on the sidelines of the OSCE Asian Conference earlier in June.

◦ In addition, Deputy Minister Kim requested that Serbia, which connects Russia, Southeast Europe and Turkey, pay attention to and support the continued advances in the Eurasia Initiative designed to enhance the connectivity on the Eurasian continent.

6. The ROK-Serbia policy consultation, the first of its kind in three years since the one held in 2012, is seen to have helped step up substantive cooperation based on the friendly and cooperative ties and the growing people-to-people exchanges since the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2014; and to have built momentum for broadening the scope of cooperation to include not only bilateral but also multilateral issues.


* unofficial translation