Korea-Netherlands to Establish 'Semiconductor Alliance'... New Dialogue Channel for Foreign and Industry Ministers

Yoon, Prime Minister Rutte Hold Summit and Issue Joint Statement
"Establishing Semiconductor Alliance Covering Government, Companies, and Universities"
Deepening 'Strategic Partnership' and Establishing '2+2 Dialogue'

South Korea and the Netherlands have established a 'semiconductor alliance.' This is not just a typical economic cooperation but a commitment to immediate and efficient response and support in the event of a supply chain crisis. In particular, the two countries have decided to deepen their existing 'strategic partnership' by creating a so-called '2+2 dialogue' involving foreign and industry ministers, holding meetings biennially.

On the 13th (local time), President Yoon held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, and then held a joint press conference where they announced a joint statement saying, "We have agreed to strengthen strategic communication and policy coordination in the fields of economic security and supply chains."

Joint press conference concluded by the South Korea-Netherlands leaders. [Source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon evaluated that "the solidarity between the two countries, forged through bloodshed during the Korean War over 70 years ago, has now built a 'strategic partnership' encompassing all areas including security, economy, culture, and global agendas." Furthermore, President Yoon and Prime Minister Rutte declared, "Recognizing the special complementary relationship between the two countries in the semiconductor value chain, we reaffirmed our commitment to establishing a semiconductor alliance that includes governments, companies, and universities." To this end, they agreed to establish semiconductor dialogues between industrial authorities and launch semiconductor workforce development programs.

▲ They also agreed to enhance intergovernmental knowledge and information exchange to improve the resilience of supply chains for key items ▲ strengthen cooperation throughout the nuclear power cycle including construction, operation, workforce, nuclear fuel, and safety ▲ and promote cooperation related to carbon-neutral energy to achieve carbon neutrality and energy security.

The joint statement also included expanding strategic communication channels. Along with the establishment of the foreign and industry ministers' dialogue, it was concretized through the annualization of policy consultations at the vice-minister level (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the Economic Joint Committee (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and the Innovation Joint Committee (Ministry of Industry). Additionally, it included the establishment of an annual economic security dialogue involving directors-general or higher, promotion of working-level consultations on comprehensive security issues, and annualization of inter-ministerial cyber policy consultations.

Cooperation in defense, defense industry, and emerging security sectors will also be pursued. First, they agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation and to promote the holding of a joint defense industry and logistics committee. They also agreed to attend as observers the JPOW (Joint Project Optic Windmill) exercise in 2025, a command post exercise for air defense and missile defense led by Germany and the Netherlands.

The two leaders also expressed joint views on cooperation in the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement included strong condemnation of North Korea's provocations, support from the Netherlands for the 'Bold Initiative' which involves more bold and active economic support and investment depending on North Korea's commitment to denuclearization, and strengthening cooperation to improve North Korean human rights.

In the fields of science and technology, they declared the signing of an ICT cooperation MOU, expansion of cooperation in the digital domain, and promotion of agreements or MOUs in science and research. Furthermore, they plan to strengthen cultural, artistic, and human exchanges. They will enhance exchanges and cooperation between policy research institutes of both countries and double the number of participants in the working holiday MOU program.

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