President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae this afternoon. The two leaders discussed how to enhance substantive cooperation between the two nations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

President Moon expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Solberg for visiting Korea together with Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus and many other royal family members who graced us with their presence at the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. 

Wishing Team Norway, a powerhouse in cross-country and alpine skiing, the best of luck at this Olympics, President Moon also extended congratulations on the team`s great performance so far. The President went on to say that he had heard that the Norwegian people were born wearing skis and that it seemed to be true. Mentioning South Korean cross-country skiing team member Kim Magnus, who was born to a Norwegian father and South Korean mother, President Moon expressed the hope that the two countries would be able to cultivate closer ties. 

Prime Minister Solberg gave a high evaluation of the shared progress the two countries have achieved so far through cooperation in the shipbuilding and maritime industries and expressed her expectations for such cooperation in other areas such as information and communications technology and the green growth industry. In reply, President Moon explained Korea`s "Renewable Energy 3020" implementation plan, through which the nation aims to increase the renewable energy`s share of the energy mix to 20 percent by 2030. In this connection, the President added he looked forward to the strengthening of cooperation in green growth. 

President Moon expressed his gratitude to Norway for actively backing the Korean Government’s North Korea policy. Then, the President asked for support from the international community to ensure that the inter-Korean talks made possible by North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics would lead to a dialogue between the North and the United States. 

Prime Minister Solberg asked for Korea’s active participation in activities related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). President Moon answered that the Korean Government was making endeavors to establish a more organized system to implement the SDGs in Korea through its push for a major paradigm shift toward a people-centered economy.   

The two leaders gave high marks to the fact that the two countries have continuously developed mutually beneficial and close, friendly and cooperative relations over the past 59 years since diplomatic ties were established in 1959. They also noted that this summit was an opportunity to have an extensive discussion on directions for the future development of bilateral relations. 

Prime Minister Solberg said next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Saying it would be a great pleasure for President Moon to visit Norway for its commemoration, the Prime Minister added she wanted to use this opportunity to invite the President. The Prime Minister went on to say that if he could visit Norway, the cooperative relations between the two countries would be strengthened, asking for the President’s visit at the earliest date possible. 

There was an exchange of gifts at the summit today. Prime Minister Solberg presented a soccer ball printed with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In return, President Moon gave a semitransparent, white porcelain cup produced in commemoration of the PyeongChang Olympics. It portrays winter in Gangwon-do Province.