We share compatible values with South Korea, Prime Minister Eduard Heger declared in Budapest after the meeting between the Visegrad Four (V4: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) prime ministers and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday. As Heger further explained, democracy, free markets and the rule of law are the values he meant. According to him, V4 and South Korea also face the same challenges, chief among which is the so-called green transformation.
At the second meeting held in this format, Heger underlined that Slovakia attaches great importance to steel production. South Korea ranks as the sixth largest global steel producer, with its industry to GDP ratio even being similar to that in Slovakia (30 percent). South Korea also shares with Slovakia a similar national energy mix and stance on nuclear energy. Another shared challenge is the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, Heger pointed out that Slovakia made use of South Korean tests for COVID-19 and protective gear in the early stages of the pandemic.
More than 100 South Korean companies are active on the Slovak market, with South Korea being the fifth largest investor in Slovakia and the largest one out of all the Asian states, a situation seen also in all the other V4 countries. "We'll be glad if we could welcome the first electric car from South Korean automobile makers in Slovakia as well," added Heger. A great challenge looming in the future, and discussed by the Budapest summit participants, is carbon neutrality, which will call for enormous financial resources.
Source: TASR
