President Moon Jae-in met with French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe in the morning at the Hôtel de Matignon, the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of France where he receives foreign guests.
President Moon and Prime Minister Philippe shared an understanding that bilateral economic cooperation, including through Korea’s introduction of France’s TGV high-speed train in the 1990s and the joint development of satellites in the 2000s, greatly benefited the peoples of both countries. They concurred on the need to identify new areas of cooperation while steadily expanding bilateral trade and investment.
President Moon expressed the hope that the advancement of Korean businesses and goods into France would be expanded in the interest of bilateral trade and investment. On top of this, the President requested France's interest in ensuring that mutually beneficial trade between Korea and France would not be affected by the European Union's recent safeguards imposed on steel products.
President Moon and Prime Minister Philippe agreed to jointly respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution by enhancing cooperation in such areas as climate change, artificial intelligence and information and communications. In addition, the two nations are planning to adopt a Korea-France action plan on science and technology cooperation. If the action plan is adopted, the two countries will carry out policy-related exchanges in the science and technology sectors, including space development, climate change, new materials and nanotechnology. The two countries will also work together in various other related areas, for instance, to promote EUREKA network projects from 2019 to 2022.
In addition, President Moon and Prime Minister Philippe discussed people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation. They also agreed to closely cooperate on protecting citizens residing in each other’s country. Noting that there are currently 23 direct flights a week between Incheon and Paris as of October 2018, President Moon also suggested that the two countries make efforts to increase the number of flights by Korean and French carriers.
Citing the 2011 return to Korea of the “Oegyujanggak Uigwe,” records of Joseon Dynasty royal protocols [removed from Ganghwado Island in 1866], as an exemplary case of culture-related cooperation, President Moon once again stressed the significance of collaboration regarding culture.