President Moon Postpones Turkey Visit for Full-Scale COVID-19 Response

Phone Call with Turkish President Erdogan Explaining Reason for Visit Postponement... "Hope to Confirm Turkey Visit Soon"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the afternoon of the 6th, President Moon Jae-in spoke with Turkish President Erdogan and sought understanding regarding the postponement of his visit to Turkey due to the 'novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)' issue. President Erdogan expressed his hope that the visit would be realized in the near future.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, said on the 6th, "President Moon Jae-in spoke with Turkish President Erdogan for about 20 minutes starting at 5 p.m. today, exchanging opinions on mutual interests between the two countries, including the situation related to COVID-19."

Spokesperson Kang explained, "President Moon sought understanding as he intended to visit Turkey in response to President Erdogan's state visit to Korea in May 2018, but postponed the trip to focus on the government's all-out response to COVID-19. He also expressed gratitude for the letter of condolence sent by Turkey's Emine to First Lady Kim Jung-sook regarding the deceased and confirmed cases."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Kang said, "President Erdogan conveyed condolences to the Korean citizens who died from COVID-19 and wished for the early recovery of those infected. He also fully understood President Moon's decision to postpone the visit to Turkey and hoped the visit would take place soon."

Spokesperson Kang added, "President Moon expressed gratitude for President Erdogan's renewed invitation and responded that specific schedules would be discussed through diplomatic channels. He also provided a detailed explanation of the Korean government's measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and requested that Turkey consider easing restrictions on Korean entries."

President Moon emphasized that considering the close economic cooperation between the two countries, essential exchanges among businesspeople should not be hindered. He requested active consideration of at least the resumption of minimal flights.

Spokesperson Kang said, "President Erdogan highly appreciated Korea's efforts to end COVID-19 and responded that since Korea is taking stronger measures than any other country, he hopes that exchanges between the two countries will normalize soon through the early overcoming of the COVID-19 situation."

Meanwhile, marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, President Moon emphasized Turkey's special sacrifices as one of the four major participating countries and said that the strategic partnership should continue to develop not only bilaterally but also multilaterally.

President Erdogan said that Korea has been a brotherly country to Turkey since the past, and with the enactment of the Korea-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (FTA) narrowing the economic distance, he hopes that close cooperation in various fields such as trade, investment, and infrastructure between the two countries will be further strengthened.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.