Poland and South Korea continue to build their strategic partnership, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Han Duck-soo, at a military base in Mińsk Mazowiecki in eastern Poland on Wednesday.
The two leaders reaffirmed that they would continue their military, nuclear energy, and economic cooperation, which has brought the two countries much closer together.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, Morawiecki said: “Today, Poland faces the great task of building one of the strongest land armies in Europe. We intend to draw on the highest-level technology. Our strategic partnership with South Korea serves this goal.”
The Polish prime minister stated that Poland had recently bought military equipment from South Korea, including K2 tanks, K9 gun howitzers, and FA-50 light combat aircraft, adding that “advanced South Korean equipment, which will be also produced in Poland, is becoming an important pillar of our future security.”
Morawiecki also said that Poland and South Korea, although located far from each other, “have much in common,” such as the presence of a powerful neighbor. “Poland and South Korea lie on two sides of the world, but also on two sides of Russia. However, we are both committed to the defense of civilization and peace, which unites us and means that we have more and more joint economic and defense projects.”
Poland’s head of government added that “if we can talk about friendship in international relations, this is how friendship and partnership between Poland and Korea are built. Together, we work for security in Europe, Asia and around the world.”
Morawiecki said he was happy that bilateral trade between Poland and South Korea has reached €10 billion in 2022 and that “there are 600 South Korean companies on the Polish market, including over 100 manufacturers. It provides extremely valuable experience for us. In this way, we absorb the world’s latest technologies.”
[pp id=52702]
South Korean PM Han Duck-soo noted that this year marked a decade since Poland and South Korea established a strategic partnership.
South Korea’s prime minister said that “Poland is undoubtedly a key partner for South Korea and a starting point for entering Central and Eastern Europe.” He also added that both countries had experience in postwar reconstruction and would “work together on the rebuilding of Ukraine.”
The South Korean PM also revealed that his country will allow Poland to export its poultry and pork meat to the Korean market and a similar decision is expected regarding beef.
Korean investments in Poland are concentrated in the automotive and electromobility industries. Thanks to Korean investment, Poland has become one of the leading producers of lithium batteries in Europe and the world.
