Yoon to Make State Visit to the Netherlands in December Following UK Visit in November

Our President's State Visit to the Netherlands, First Since Diplomatic Relations Established

President Yoon Suk-yeol will make a state visit to the Netherlands in December at the invitation of King Willem Alexander.

The Presidential Office announced on the 26th that President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee will visit the Netherlands in December as state guests.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte shake hands after a joint press conference at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the afternoon of November 17, 2022.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

King Willem Alexander extended an invitation for a state visit to President Yoon last June through Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

The Presidential Office explained that this state visit to the Netherlands is significant as it will be the first state visit by a Korean president since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Netherlands in 1961.

Following the state visit to the United Kingdom announced earlier that morning for November, the December state visit to the Netherlands is expected to improve the conditions for economic activities of Korean companies in Europe.

During President Yoon’s state visit to the Netherlands, cooperation plans in various economic sectors such as energy and semiconductors between Korea and the Netherlands are expected to be announced. Last November, during Prime Minister Rutte’s official visit to Korea, the two leaders held a summit where they agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and strengthen cooperation in security and the economy.

In particular, since the Netherlands is a key partner for Korea in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, cooperation plans related to the semiconductor supply chain are also expected to be explored. During Prime Minister Rutte’s visit to Korea, a private meeting hosted by the two leaders was attended by Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; and Peter Wennink, CEO of ASML.

Earlier, the state visit to the United Kingdom in November was arranged to seek the development of bilateral relations on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of Korea-UK diplomatic relations, and it is expected that various partnerships and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) will be signed to deepen economic exchanges and cooperation in economic and security aspects.

The two countries are currently discussing upgrading cyber cooperation to an alliance level, and specific cooperation plans on this matter are also expected to be disclosed. Lim Jong-deuk, Deputy Director of the National Security Office, visited London from the 11th to the 16th and held meetings with officials from the UK National Security Council, Ministry of Defense, and Foreign Office. Additionally, since the UK government is promoting a project to build up to eight new nuclear power plants, opportunities for Korean nuclear power companies to participate are also anticipated.

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