SEOUL— South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met with his Laotian counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations, including trade and investment, officials here said.
Both sides expressed hope that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement that covers the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and four other countries — China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — would take effect within this year, they said.
The two also shared the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and other areas to actively deal with various challenges in the post COVID-19 era, such as high inflation.
Park called on Laos to play a greater role in fostering ties between South Korea and ASEAN and five Mekong countries — Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
Seoul’s top diplomat also asked for Laos’ backing for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southern port city of Busan.
Saleumxay, who doubles as deputy prime minister, said his government will actively support South Korean companies making inroads into Laos.
Source: Yonhap News Agency