President Moon Jae-in and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Turkey held a summit this morning at Cheong Wa Dae. The two Presidents discussed the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as measures to advance bilateral relations in a variety of fields, including political affairs, national defense, the economy, society and culture as well as regional and international cooperation.

President Erdoğan is currently making a state visit to Korea May 2-3 at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in. His state visit is the first by a Turkish President since the establishment of a strategic partnership between our two countries in 2012.

President Erdoğan began by wholeheartedly congratulating President Moon on the success of the inter-Korean summit, saying he closely followed the historic meeting between the leaders of South and North Korea. On April 27 when the inter-Korean summit was held, the Turkish President posted a comment in Turkish and Korean on Tweeter wishing for the continued success of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He also reaffirmed Turkey’s firm support for the endeavors of Korea to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia and the rest of the world.

President Moon welcomed the Turkish President by saying he was the first state guest to visit Korea right after the historic inter-Korean summit to bless “Spring on the Korean Peninsula.” President Moon briefed his Turkish counterpart on the results and significance of the inter-Korean summit as well as the Korean Government’s initiative to bring permanent peace to the Korean Peninsula.

The two heads of state noted that the two countries have bolstered cooperation based on brotherly ties as well as historical and emotional bonds. They agreed to continue to increase exchanges and cooperation at government and non-government levels.

The two Presidents made an assessment that the Korea-Turkey FTA was serving as an important foundation for promoting mutually beneficial economic cooperation through the balanced expansion of bilateral trade. They agreed to ensure that the agreement on services and investment within the framework of the FTA is effectuated at the earliest date possible. In addition, the two Presidents agreed to promptly conclude the amendment of the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the signing of the agreement on maritime transportation, thereby further strengthening the institutional basis for mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

The two leaders also exchanged ideas on how to work together for the successful implementation of Vision 2023, one of the top priority initiatives of the Turkish Government. President Erdoğan put forth the goals of making Turkey one of the world`s top 10 economic powers, exporting US$500 billion annually and achieving a per capita GDP of US$25,000 by 2023, the year marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. To this end, numerous mega projects are now underway in the country in the sectors of infrastructure and energy.

President Moon and President Erdoğan welcomed the fact that the construction of the 3rd Bosphorus Bridge and Canakkale 1915 Bridge in Turkey was proceeding without a hitch thanks to the participation of Korean companies, thereby becoming a symbol of successful infrastructure cooperation between the two countries. The two Presidents next came to an agreement to further expand bilateral cooperation in mega infrastructure projects in Turkey encompassing transportation, energy and the defense industry.

The two Presidents also discussed ways to expand exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism and education. In 2011, the Korean Cultural Center was opened in Ankara, Turkey, and the Yunus Emre Institute, which serves as the Turkish cultural center, will be opened in Seoul soon. The two Presidents welcomed the opening of the Turkish institute and agreed to continue close cooperation.

Noting that the two countries worked closely together not only on the bilateral level but also on the multilateral level such as at international organizations, including the United Nations, the two leaders concurred on the need to further strengthen cooperation. In particular, they agreed to give a boost to MIKTA, which has established itself as a foreign-minister level consultative group of middle-power nations—Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia—since it was launched in September 2013. The two leaders also agreed to seek ways to upgrade cooperation at MIKTA, including its development into a consultative body of heads of state. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the international economic partnership of the G20 and agreed to continue collaboration within the G20 process. 

The two leaders expressed a common interest in maintaining world peace and stability. They promised to work together on various global issues such as terrorism and the refugee crisis. They exchanged opinions on the recent developments in the Middle East, including in Palestine and Syria, and came to have a common understanding that the international community needed to come together to seek permanent political solutions to the conflicts in Syria and other humanitarian crises.   

After the summit, the two leaders attended a signing ceremony for MOUs in four areas of cooperation, including education, information and communications technology, industry, and healthcare and medical services. The signing of the MOUs today is expected to pave the way for collaboration in various areas, including support for exchanges between institutions of higher education in the two countries, increased cooperation on ICT and research and development as well as upgrades to the industrial and technological partnership, and public healthcare policy. 

President Erdoğan invited President Moon to visit Turkey at a convenient time, and President Moon gladly accepted the invitation.