By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed in South Korea Wednesday with a warm ceremony, ahead of a bilateral summit aimed at boosting ties.
Erdogan's two-day state visit at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in comes less than a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stepped on South Korean soil for the first time.
But the primary focus of the Turkish president's trip appears to be economic cooperation.
“President Moon and President Erdogan will review the development of the countries' strategic partnership and hold discussions on ways to further increase their mutual cooperation in trade and other areas, ” Seoul's presidential vice spokesperson Ko Min-jung was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.
The message was underscored by a gathering of officials and business leaders from both sides Wednesday morning.
Hosted in Seoul by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the event was an opportunity for a 150-member Turkish delegation to develop contacts within the framework of a five-year-old free trade agreement, which was upgraded in 2015.
“The role of companies is becoming more important to cement economic relations between the two nations, ” Trade Minister Paik Un-gyu said during opening remarks, also promising the government's support in that regard.
Bilateral trade volume rose over 17 percent between 2012 and 2017, reaching US$6.12 billion based on Seoul's official data.
Relations between Turkey and South Korea stretch back to the 1950s, when they forged a brotherhood during the Korean War.
