KF뉴스레터-The right track after four years of operation

The right track after four years of operation

The notable efforts of Korea and Spain
The Korea-Spain Forum, in its fourth year of operation, was held in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, on July 5-6. This year’s forum was especially significant because of the notable efforts of Korea and Spain to further strengthen their bilateral relations in 2007. Above all, the President of Korea made a state visit to Spain in 2007, for the first time in Korea’s history. In addition, ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair, one of the world’s top-five art fairs, designated Korea as this year’s guest country, which provided an ideal opportunity to showcase Korean contemporary art to the world. Meanwhile, Korean Air launched direct flights to Madrid in late June, thereby laying the groundwork for closer interaction between the two countries. In addition, Casa Asia, the co-organizer of the Korea-Spain Forum, declared 2007 as the “Year of Korea." Casa Asia is an independent organization established by Spain’s ministry of foreign affairs to bolster cooperation with Asia, in a role similar to that of the Korea Foundation.

Spain-Korea summit to realize closer cooperation
As evidence of the growing significance of their bilateral relations, a number of distinguished figures, representing various sectors of Korea and Spain, participated in the fourth Korea-Spain Forum. The forum was comprised of four sessions, in which paper presentations were followed by free and frank discussion. In the first session, on the theme of bilateral relations between Korea and Spain, and relations among Asia, Spain, and Latin America, participants discussed ways to build on the momentum of the Spain-Korea summit to realize closer cooperation, and to jointly pursue economic opportunities in the Latin American region, through the development of a two-way cooperative system.
In the second session, on cooperation in the industrial, technological, and tourism sectors, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in regard to tourism. In particular, the Korean side proposed an agenda for joint tourism projects and enhanced cooperation in the industrial and technological fields.
On the second day, the third session fo-cused on matters related to science and education, including the possibility of in-creasing exchange and cooperation in science- and technology-related R&D activities, as well as promoting education of the Spanish language and literature in Korea and Korean Studies in Spain. To confirm that Korea showed the greatest enthusiasm for learning the Spanish language among Asian countries, Spanish Ambassador to Korea Delfin Colome announced plans to open a Cervantes Institute in Korea in 2008. The news of opening a Cervantes Institute, which had long been an envisioned project of the two countries, was heartily applauded by everyone at the forum.
In the final fourth session on bilateral cultural exchange, the participants presented visions for closer cooperation in broadcasting and the arts, like the ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair. With the conclusion of the fourth session, the two-day forum was wound up, with the participants all agreeing on the need for more time and effort in this regard, along with pledging to continue with these endeavors at the fifth Korea-Spain Forum, to be held in Seoul in 2008.

▲ As evidence of the growing significance of their bilateral relations, a number of distinguished figures, representing various sectors of Korea and Spain, participated in the fourth Korea-Spain Forum.

More cooperative relations
It can be said that the Korea-Spain Forum seems to be well on the right track after four years of operation. The key task for the forum now is to make concerted efforts to effectuate more cooperative relations between the two countries based on practical activities. For this, it is necessary to form a working group that can operate on an ongoing basis, increase the representation of women and youth, and explore new agenda items, including cooperative development.
Finally, it should be noted that such an event in a country with a different language and culture cannot be successfully held without the assistance of the local embassy. And for this, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Korean Ambassador to Spain, Lee Chun-seun, and his staff, who spared no effort to support us throughout our stay, despite their busy schedule. On behalf of the Korean delegation, I would also like to acknowledge the diligent efforts of Director Park Mi-sook and Program Officer Shim Jooyeon of the Korean Foundation, which contributed to the smooth proceedings of this forum and its fruitful results.

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The right track after four years of operation

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