MANILA, Philippines – LOOKING forward si South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol na bumisita sa Pilipinas ngayong taon o sa susunod na taon bilang tanda na rin ng ika-75 anibersaryo ng relasyon ng dalawang bansa.
Sinabi ito ni South Korean Ambassador-designate Lee Sang-Hwa, araw ng Lunes. Hulyo 10 sa isinagawang presentasyon ng kanyang credentials kay Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa Palasyo ng Malakanyang.
“That’s exactly the point our President Yoon Suk Yeol mentioned to me at the credential ceremony in Seoul. He really, really looks forward to visiting this very country Philippines. But if not this year, I’m sure sometime in the first half of next year as we mark our 75th anniversary,” ang sinabi ni Lee kay Pangulong Marcos.
Ang naging tugon naman ng Pangulo ay inaasam din niya na makapulong ang South Korean leader sa idaraos na Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit sa Nobyembre.
“Of course, there are many other conferences and I hope that maybe in November when we go to the United States for the APEC because I’m sure your President will attend, maybe we’ll have a chance to at least meet and have a bilateral meeting,” ayon sa Pangulo.
“But after that, I think both sides now will be able to plan better. It’s been a busy year because we just finished our first year of this administration. So slowly, slowly, we are beginning to find ways to adjust our schedules to all these very important events that we are going through,” dagdag na pahayag nito.
Sinabi rin ni Ambassador Lee sa Pangulo na nakatakda ring bumisita sa Pilipinas sina South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kin Jin-Pyo at South Korean Foreign Minister ngayong taon para makita at makapulong ang kani-kanilang counterparts para mas palakasin ang relasyon.
Ayon kay Pangulong Marcos, inaayos na ng kanyang administrasyon ang ilan sa basic at important policies sa unang taon nito sa tanggapan na makatutulong sa transpormasyon ng ekonomiya ng bansa.
Umaasa naman ang Chief Executive na sa post-pandemic world, at may malakas na partnerships at alliance sa mga bansa gaya ng South Korea, “I think we can always look forward to a better future and stronger alliance.”
Binanggit din nito ang regional developments gaya ng ASEAN alliances na mayroong mas maraming dominant role pagdating sa security at defense.
“It is the first time that we will have joint exercises with the ASEAN member nations. And slowly I think that this is starting to stabilize the security and defense situation in our region,” anito.
Sinabi pa rin ng South Korean ambassador na ganap siyang sumasang-ayon sa Pangulo sabay sabing “(o)f course, there are comprehensive regional strategy (as) ASEAN takes a centerstage and the Philippines strategic importance has heightened significantly.”
“So we look forward to elevating our relationship formally to strategic partnership at an appropriate time including many, many areas security and defense cooperation, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges,” aniya pa rin.
Inulit naman ni Lee ang commitment ng South Korea sa Pilipinas pagdating sa energy cooperation.
Lubha aniyang masigasig ang kanyang bansa sa Bataan Nuclear Power Plant energy generation.
“We presented, submitted our proposal for joint feasibility study,” ani Lee. Kris Jose
