G7 summit: Moon and Macron talk bilateral cooperation in pull aside meeting

President Moon Jae-In and Emmanuel Macron discuss French-Korean cooperation during 2021 G7 summit in Cornwall

On Sunday, June 13th, Presidents Moon Jae-in and Emmanuel Macron held an informal discussion for some 50 minutes on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Britain. 

The two leaders shared how their countries are coping with COVID-19 and discussed the economic situation in both countries. 

Macron highlighted that France hopes to strengthen cooperation with South Korea, particularly in areas such as technology, public health and energy. Moon was also favorable in bolstering French-Korean ties in such sectors and added that Korea hopes to strengthen cooperation with the European Union in general. 

Macron furthermore suggested the importance of working together on culture and education to maintain the Seoul-Paris relationship. In response, Moon mentioned training and educational exchanges in AI and software sectors. 

Moon informed the French leader on his recent visit to the United States, revealing diplomatic developments between the two Koreas and between the US and North Korea. Macron went on to express his strong support toward the peace process initiative in the Korean peninsula. 

This year marks 135 years of diplomatic relations between France and Korea. Bilateral cooperation was strengthened with Moon’s visit to France in October 2018. In 2019, French-Korean trade achieved a record-high for both Korean and French exports ever since the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2011, reaching respectively 4 billion and 5.2 billion euros. Although exports shrunk by 16.1% for France and 9.5% for Korea in the first 9 months of 2020 due to the pandemic, South Korea and France remain important partners, major trade sectors being transportation, electronics and energy. 

More information on the meeting here.