1. On April 20, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong held the third ROK-Latvia High-level Policy Consultation with his Latvian counterpart Andrejs Pildegovics, who is on a visit to the Republic of Korea.

2. At the Policy Consultation, the two sides noted with appreciation the progress made in the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, including in high-level exchanges. They also engaged in a broad exchange of views on a range of issues, including improving bilateral trade and investment; expanding substantive cooperation in air services and education; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia; and cooperation on the international stage.

3. The two sides took note that the friendly and cooperative relations between the ROK and Latvia have continuously developed since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1991. They shared the view that the ROK government’s opening of its Riga Office in Latvia in 2013 and Latvia’s opening of its permanent mission in Seoul in the second half of this year will help further enhance bilateral people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

4. The two sides agreed that geopolitically, Latvia is a logistics stronghold which connects the EU and the CIS, and has a highly-educated and experienced workforce, and the ROK has competitive advantages in the global ICT, logistics and transportation industries, so there is great potential for expanding trade and investment between the two countries. To that end, they agreed to continue to closely cooperate.

o In particular, noting that the bilateral trade volume has steadily increased since last year, the two sides decided to expand people-to-people and material exchanges by signing an air services agreement and advance substantive cooperation in various sectors, including education and tourism.

5. The two sides noted with appreciation that the ROK-EU relations have been elevated from a strategic partnership to a “future-oriented partnership,” aimed at enhancing cooperation on global issues. They especially agreed to further expand their cooperation on a range of global issues, including climate change and cyber security, during the period of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of this year.

6. The ROK side expressed appreciation for Latvia’s consistent support for the ROK’s North Korea policy. The ROK side also requested the Latvian government’s continued interest and support in gaining support and cooperation from the EU and its member countries regarding the ROK government’s efforts to establish a foundation for peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula.

7. The Policy Consultation with Latvia, a key Baltic state which holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2015, served as an opportunity to deepen the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and strengthen the future-oriented cooperative relations between the ROK and the EU.

*unofficial translation