Seoul: South Korea and Japan held their first senior-level meeting on science and technology cooperation in 16 years Thursday, the foreign ministry said, as the two countries renewed their commitment to deepen ties in advanced technologies. The 14th meeting of the S. Korea-Japan Science and Technology Cooperation Committee took place in Tokyo earlier in the day, following the two sides’ agreement to resume the intergovernmental forum for the first time since 2009 during their summit talks in September.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean delegation was led by Han Min-young, director general for climate change, energy, environment, and scientific affairs at Seoul’s foreign ministry, along with officials from the science and trade ministries. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, and biotechnology.