President Yoon discusses chip relations with Dutch, Portuguese leaders

President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the summit held in Vilnius on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

VILNIUS, Lithuania – President Yoon Suk Yeol has met with leaders from NATO nations the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway to discuss enhancing cooperation and addressing regional issues. The conversations took place at a recent summit and focused on mutual efforts in fields such as national defense, security, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and nuclear power, according to a statement from the presidential office.

During their summit on Tuesday, Yoon and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte acknowledged their countries' increased cooperation since Rutte's visit to Korea last November. They lauded their nations' collaboration within the semiconductors industry and agreed on the need for deeper and broader cooperation to stabilize the global semiconductors supply chain. The leaders committed to intensified communication and governmental support.

Yoon and Rutte also pledged to support international efforts to conclude the conflict in Ukraine and establish peace.

In a separate meeting, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa expressed hope that Portugal could join the global supply chain via close work with South Korean chip companies. In response, Yoon offered his support for seamless cooperation between companies from the countries and expressed hope for strengthened collaboration in areas including digital technology, development cooperation and cultural exchanges.

Yoon also held a discussion with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, in which he expressed hope for expanded cooperation across various sectors, including renewable energy and the defense industry. Store responded with anticipation for potential collaboration in offshore wind power, hydrogen energy and carbon capture technology, and looked forward to potential defense industry partnerships where South Korea has a competitive advantage.

By Shin Ji-hye(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)