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The President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma met the Speaker of the National Assembly of South KoreaKang Chang-hee in Seoul. “The interest of the Estonian authorities and undertakings in Asia is growing and the Republic of Korea is among our most important partners. The geographical distance which may seem long at first sight is compensated by modern Internet-based communication and cooperation opportunities. Our interest is to better use this potential,” the President of the Riigikogu noted.
Both parties expressed contentment with the activisation of parliamentary ties. A delegation led by the Speaker of the Korean parliament had visited Estonia in summer 2011 and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu had visited Korea in November of the same year. It was jointly found that scientific and technological cooperation would be a sphere to the development of which committees of the parliaments of both countries might successfully contribute.
The Korean side recognised Estonia’s achievements in the development and implementation of Internet services: “We are well aware that Estonia is one of the most successful countries in Europe in the development and provision of e-services. Also unique and exciting are your experiences of Internet-based parliamentary elections. We would like to learn more about that,” Kang Chang-hee expressed an interest. Internet security problems were also touched upon.
The President of the Riigikogu appreciated highly the scientific contacts between physicists at the University of Tartu and in Korea and she expressed Estonia’s interest to intensify and diversify scientific contacts.
The parties also discussed the cooperation of the two countries in international organisations which has been increasingly close and effective. The hosts thanked Estonia for supporting Korea becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
During their visit to Korea, today Ergma together with members of the Riigikogu Andres Anvelt,Mailis Reps, Sven Sester, Urve Tiidus and the Secretary General of the Riigikogu Maria Alajõealso visited the National Museum of Korea and attended a dance performance of the national theatre.
Tomorrow they will meet Prime Minister Hwang-sik Kim and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Sung Hwan Kim, and visit Samsung Electronics in Suwon.