South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is scheduled to travel to Austria, Turkey, Italy and Vatican City starting this week for talks on bilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.
Park will depart for Austria on Wednesday and meet with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, the following day to discuss ways to step up partnerships in economic security, technology and cultural exchanges.
He will also seek Austria's support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, Ahn Eun-ju, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, said in a regular press briefing.
On Saturday, Park is scheduled to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul to discuss cooperation in areas of defense, infrastructure and power plants, and review progress in the construction of temporary homes Seoul has previously pledged to provide following a massive earthquake that struck Turkey in February.
He will later travel to Italy to discuss expanding economic cooperation in the fields of space and aviation with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, on Monday. Park will pay a courtesy call on Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and hold discussions with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states.
Source: Yonhap News Agency