Seoul: South Korea and the Netherlands held the inaugural meeting of a high-level dialogue attended by their foreign affairs and trade ministers Wednesday, reaffirming their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in trade, economic security, artificial intelligence (AI), and other areas amid heightened global tensions, Seoul officials said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the high-level dialogue brought together Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, with their respective Dutch counterparts, David van Weel and Aukje de Vries, in Seoul. Following their discussions, the ministers issued a joint statement emphasizing the necessity to further deepen bilateral cooperation in light of increasing geoeconomic tensions and rapid advancements in new technologies.
Seoul and The Hague have been collaborating to strengthen cooperation in various sectors, including trade, economic security, AI in the military domain, semiconductors, and critical mineral supply chains under their bilateral strategic partnership established in 2022. The ministers highlighted that exchanges on supply-chain monitoring methods were considered constructive for exploring future cooperation in strengthening the economic security of both nations.
The joint statement underscored the importance of expanding these initiatives and proactively identifying new areas of economic security-related cooperation, particularly in trade. The two countries also agreed to further explore cooperation in the responsible use of AI in the military domain with a "safe and human-centric" approach, building on their co-hosting of the first REAIM summit last year.
Both nations committed to exploring additional mutual investment opportunities in advanced technology ecosystems and advancing joint research and development projects in semiconductors and quantum technologies. They also agreed to identify new areas for cooperation in economic security, cybersecurity, and critical mineral supply chains.
The next round of the 2+2 Foreign and Industry High-Level Dialogue between Korea and the Netherlands is scheduled to be held in The Hague in 2028, as reported by Seoul officials.