South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, alongside his wife, Kim Keon Hee, rides in a vehicle after arriving at London Stansted Airport on the outskirts of London on Nov. 20, 2023, for a four-day state visit to Britain on the first leg of a two-nation trip that will later take him to France for a final diplomatic campaign to bring the 2030 World Expo to Busan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
LONDON, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and Britain will adopt the “Downing Street Accord” on the occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to London to upgrade their relations to a “global strategic partnership” and deepen cooperation in the security and economic realms, the presidential office said Monday.
The accord, which will mark the 140th anniversary of bilateral relations, will be adopted by Yoon and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their summit later this week, according to the office.
The global strategic partnership will be an upgrade from the current “broad and creative partnership” between the two countries, while the accord will stress their common position on the North Korean nuclear issue and Korean Peninsula affairs, and highlight their joint commitment to responding to global issues, including in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.
The two countries will also agree to work together in multilateral fora, such as the U.N. Security Council, the Group of 20 and the Group of Seven, to strengthen the international rules-based order.
A “strategic cyber partnership” will be established to strengthen their capabilities to respond to cyberthreats, while a declaration of intent will be signed on forging a partnership for defense capacity cooperation. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) on joint defense industry exports will also be signed.
In addition, the two sides will increase defense and security cooperation by expanding joint military exercises and pushing for joint maritime patrols to enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea.
Moreover, they will launch negotiations for a revision of the South Korea-Britain free trade agreement and sign an MOU on semiconductor cooperation for stronger supply chains.
During their talks, Yoon and Sunak also plan to discuss economic and financial cooperation, as well as cooperation in future industry sectors, such as artificial intelligence, digital technologies and nuclear power, and declare their commitment to jointly respond to global issues, such as the climate crisis.
(Yonhap)
