South Korea's second vice foreign minister Lee Do-hoon said Seoul and Washington are mutually indispensable partners in establishing and advancing economic and industrial solidarity based on the universal values of liberty and human rights.
On Tuesday, at a joint press conference after his meeting with Jose Fernandez, the visiting U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, Lee said they confirmed the direction of bilateral cooperation in economic security and technology.
The vice minister noted that the talks were the allies' first high-level meeting on economic cooperation this year, following up on the seventh Senior Economic Dialogue(SED) held in Washington last month, in compliance with President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pledge to focus on economic diplomacy in the new year.
Fernandez called South Korea an important U.S. partner in the areas of key mineral development, new technological development and research, as well as restoration of supply chains.
Confirming that discussions covered the exclusion of South Korean EV makers from a tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, Lee stated that they reaffirmed their commitment to continue joint efforts to relax the restrictions and establish a reciprocal supply chain ecosystem.
Source: KBS World Radio