By Aryeh Savir/TPS • 14 July, 2019
President Reuven Rivlin landed in South Korea on Sunday for a five-day official visit, at the invitation of the South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The presidents are slated to hold a joint working meeting and Rivlin will participate in a wide range of events to deepen the ties between the two countries.
The Israeli delegation includes senior business people and senior representatives from the technology and innovation communities, including representatives of 20 Israeli companies.
A delegation from the academic world is also accompanying the president.
The delegations will hold a variety of meetings and sign a series of agreements relating to the extensive cooperation between Israel and Korea.
This is the second visit by an Israeli president to South Korea since the opening of the Israeli Embassy in 1992. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1962, but the Israeli embassy was closed in 1979 by Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and reopened only in 1992.
“Israel and Korea have a great deal in common. We both have rich histories, we both achieved independence in the same year and we have both succeeded in turning every challenge into an opportunity,” Rivlin stated before departing. He expressed hope that” we will expand it with the assistance of the special delegations.”
Shraga Brosh, President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel, stated that Israel’s trade relations with South Korea “are among the largest and most important” for Israel.
The trade between the two countries in 2018 totaled NIS 2.6 billion (approx. $722 M.), an increase of 20 percent over 2017. South Korea is Israel’s 11th largest export destination and the fourth largest in Asia.
“The State of Israel in general and the economy, in particular, sees South Korea as a strategic partner. This delegation is further proof of a sustainable economic relationship that will develop and become even stronger in the near future,” Brosh said.