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International Visegrad Fund

Think Visegrad

25 Years of the V4 as Seen by the Public

Joint Statement on the Occasion of the First Summit of Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group and the President of the Republic of Korea

Heads of Government of the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak Republic and the President of the Republic of Korea met on December 3, 2015 in Prague at the first summit meeting between the V4 and the ROK. The participating countries were represented by H.E. Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, H.E. Mr. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister ofHungary, H.E. Ms. Beata Szydło, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, and H.E. Mr. Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic and H.E. Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea.

V4–ROK Cooperation

  1. Recognizing the shared universal values and principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy, market economy,the rule of law and good governance, the V4 and the ROK noted with great satisfaction the substantial political, economic and cultural ties which have been developed since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between participating countries. On the basis of the substantial progress that has been made, the V4 and the ROK intended to further develop their partnership.
  2. The V4 and the ROK underlined that the strategic partnership established between the ROK and the EU had made substantial progress and reiterated their determination to continue to invest in these comprehensive, mutually beneficial and future-oriented relations, noting with great satisfaction that the ROK is the EU’s first and only partner that has signed all the three fundamental bilateral agreements with the EU.
  3. The V4 and the ROK acknowledged the necessity to intensify their political dialogues and expand high-level exchanges in order to meet the growing need to deal with the increasing convergence of political and security agenda between them.
  4. The V4 and the ROK expressed their commitment to hold Joint Foreign Ministers' meeting regularly to discuss relevant issues in order to identify concrete and feasible programmes for cooperation in the V4 + ROK.
  5. The V4 appreciated the financial contribution of the ROK to the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) for the funding of an increased number of meaningful projects in the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The V4 informed the ROK about the establishment of the Western Balkans Fund and invited the ROK to consider in this regard.
  6. The V4 and the ROK welcomed the fact that cooperating countries have achieved mutually beneficial and complementary cooperation in the field of economy since the establishments of their diplomatic ties.
  7. The V4 and the ROK acknowledged the economic effects of the EU–Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and affirmed their readiness to create favorable conditions for the economic development under the framework of the EU–Korea FTA.
  8. The V4 and the ROK intended to promote the sustainable increase and development of trade and investment to their mutual advantage.
  9. The V4 and the ROK considered to explore the possibility of establishing a partnership for building the innovative and creative economy through cooperation in the fields of R&D, science, technology and innovation, and agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on establishing a V4–Korea multilateral joint research programme in this regard.
  10. The V4 and the ROK recognized the usefulness of strengthening energy cooperation between the two sides in a mutually beneficial way, and would consider dialog opportunities to exchange views on global and regional energy situation as well as energy policies.
  11. The V4 and the ROK acknowledged the importance of further developing infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe to facilitate economic growth and decided to consider establishing a 'V4–Korea Ad Hoc High-level Meeting on Infrastructure', which would explore opportunities for transport and infrastructure cooperation, including highways, railways and ITS (Intelligent Transport System), among others.
  12. The V4 and the ROK acknowledged the necessity to promote partnership of their Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) based on a broad consensus on the need to share the best practices that would strengthen SMEs.
  13. The V4 and the ROK agreed that the possibility of furthering cooperation in the areas of the national defense and defense industry should be explored.
  14. The V4 and the ROKstressed determination to promote cultural cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges in order to increase mutual understanding of their respective cultures.
  15. The V4 and the ROK decided to promote further bilateral cooperation in the creative industries, including music, opera, theater, film, animation, literature, paintings and exhibitions.
  16. The V4 and the ROK expressed their commitment to reinforce their cooperation in the field of tourism to their mutual advantage (e.g. Winter Olympic games 2018, National Tourism Organizations' cooperation),which is an important element of their economic relations between the participating countries.
  17. The V4 and the ROK decided to look for ways to encourage international partnership between the regions and cities of the participating countries.
  18. The V4 and the ROK emphasized the need to promote the mobility of researchers and students using the relevant frameworks and instruments established within the context of bilateral, regional as well as the EU–the Republic of Korea cooperation.
  19. The V4 and the ROK confirmed their support to further promotion of youth exchange under the existing working holiday programme agreements and youth mobility under the EU–Korea cooperation within the EU Erasmus+ Programme. In this context, the V4 appreciated the ROK’s suggestion for the 2016 ROK–V4 Young Professional Cultural Exchange Camp in Seoul.
  20. The V4 and the ROK decided to seek ways to further promote the teaching of Korean, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak languages, as well as their historical and cultural heritage.
  21. The V4 and the ROK reaffirmed their will to enhance exchange of experience and expertise on policies aiming at increasing the quality of education, as well as on the main issues featuring in education policies in the respective countries. Regional and Global Issues.
  22. The V4 and the ROK strongly condemnedthe continued development of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),and called on the DPRK to cease all related activities immediately as required by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.The Participants urged the DPRK to abandon all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and return, at an early date, to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and join the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Participants opposed any actions by the DPRK that raise tensions. The ROK and the V4 called on the DPRK to fully comply with obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and take concrete steps to honor its commitments under the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks. The V4 and the ROK reaffirmed their firm support for meaningful Six-Party Talks and urgedthe DPRK to respond to diplomatic efforts aimed at creating favorable conditions for their resumption.
  23. The V4 and the ROK shared the international community's grave concern over the human rights' situation in the DPRK as documented in last year's UN Commission of Inquiry report, and urge the DPRK to fully implement the recommendations of the report to improve its human rights situation.The V4 and the ROKagreed to remain dedicated to working with the international community to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK and urge the DPRK to cooperate with relevant UN mechanisms.
  24. The V4 and the ROK underlined that enhanced relations between the two Koreas through dialogue and cooperation with the perspective of peaceful reunification would contribute greatly to the peace and prosperity not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the world. In this regard, the V4 supportedthe peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula based on the improvement of interKorean relations as well as the Initiative for the Peaceful Unification on the Korean Peninsula while reaffirming its support for the ROK's Trust-Building Process on the Korean Peninsula.
  25. The V4 and the ROK supported the significant role of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in the peace-keeping process along the Demilitarized Zone in particular and at the Korean Peninsula in general.
  26. The V4 and the ROK took note of the V4's unique experiences in their successful transition in 1990s and reached consensus to continue their discussion on transitional experiences of the V4 for their implications on the peaceful reunification process on the Korean Peninsula.
  27. The V4 and the ROK highlighted that regional cooperation inNortheast Asia needs to be strengthened in order to build trust, which would serve as the foundation for sustainable peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. In this regard, the V4 expressed their support for the ROK's Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI).
  28. The V4 expressed appreciation for the active role of the ROK as the chair country in leading thetrilateral cooperation among the ROK, Japan and China and welcomed the ROK's successfulhosting of the 6th ROK–Japan–China Trilateral Summit on November 1, 2015 in Seoul.
  29. The V4 supported Eurasia Initiative of the ROK, which aims at enhancingconnectivity in the region, creating new opportunities through innovation and promoting peace and stability in Eurasia, and expressed their intention to work together in the Initiative projects, including Intermodal Transportation & Logistics, ICT network and KSP (Knowledge Sharing program) initiated by the ROK, among others.
  30. The V4 and the ROK expressed their full support for pro-reform courseof Ukrainian government and expressed common interest in exploring new opportunities for cooperation aimed at the modernization of Ukraine and other eastern European partners. The V4 and the ROK also took note of the holding of free and fair local elections in Ukraine in October 2015 as an important step for the progress of reforms towards decentralization.
  31. The V4 and the ROK stressed that resolution of the situation in eastern regions of Ukraine can only be achieved through a peaceful settlement and called on all sides to engage in meaningful dialogue. The V4 and the ROK agreed that the Minsk agreements must be swiftly and fully implemented. Leaders of the V4 and the ROK reaffirmed—with reference to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014—their strong support for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. They reiterated the need for full respect for international law and agreed that adherence to the United Nations Charter is of paramount importance in maintaining international peace and security. The V4 and the ROK noted with satisfaction that as a result of international diplomatic efforts, the truce and ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine has been generally respected.
  32. The V4 and the ROK agreed that tackling the current migration crisis requires addressing the root causes of an unprecedented scale of migration and human suffering. The Participants shared the view that close political and operational cooperation with the states of origin and transit of the migrants is essential. In this context, leaders of both ROK and V4 also emphasized the importance of diplomatic efforts aiming at peaceful and lasting conflict resolutions and subsequent stabilization in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
  33. The V4 and the ROK emphasized that the developments in the Middle East and Northern Africa, especially the activities of ISIL and the conflict in Syria, have considerable implication to the security situation of the international community as whole, including Europe and Asia. Both sides shared the view that it is necessary to strengthen global and regional efforts in countering terrorism.
  34. The V4 and the ROK affirmed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in regional and international organizations, including the United Nations (UN), Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM), Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and ROK, as well as OSCE–Korea Partnership.
  35. The V4 and the ROK acknowledged the goal to strengthen their cooperation on global issues, including climate change, development cooperation, organized crime and combating terrorism, cyber security, migration and refugees crises, promotion of democracy, rule of law, market economy and human rights, and agreed to continue close consultations in respective areas.
  36. The V4 and the ROK strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks, including the terrorist attacks in Turkey, Egypt, France, Mali and Lebanon, and stressed that terrorism continues to represent a serious threat to international peace and security, and agreed to exchange views on their efforts in fighting against terrorism and countering violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism.
  37. The V4 and the ROK emphasized the importance of successfully concluding a new climate agreement at COP 21 that would be legally binding, sustainable, effective and applicable to all. Also, recognizing the importance of the climate finance for the success of the Post-2020 Climate Change Regime, the V4 and the ROK underscored the crucial role of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as the new climate finance channel.
  38. The V4 and the ROK welcomed the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and reaffirmed their strong commitments to the successful implementation of these Agendas.

Prague, December 3, 2015

Source: Government of the Czech Republic

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