On the 17th (local time), Lee Jae-myung, the President of South Korea, who is visiting Canada to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, held a summit meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
President Lee expressed his heartfelt condolences to the British victims and their families from last week's accident involving an Indian passenger plane, and stated that he hopes the two countries will continue to communicate to develop their "global strategic partnership."
In response, Prime Minister Starmer expressed his gratitude for President Lee's condolences and stated that the British government values close communication and cooperation with allied countries like Korea in light of the rapidly changing situation. He also suggested that they should continue to communicate closely through various means in the future.
In particular, both countries agreed to swiftly advance the ongoing negotiations to improve the Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in order to expand trade and investment between them.
They acknowledged the need to expand cooperation in new areas such as digital technology and supply chains, as well as the necessity of joint efforts to address international issues like climate change. They also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the field of clean energy.
Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to cooperate closely to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. They expressed concern about the recent deterioration of the situation in the Middle East and agreed to work together for peace and reconstruction in Ukraine.