President Lee: "Commencement of Korea-NATO Basic Procurement Agreement Negotiations... A Foundation for Our Defense Industry Companies"

On July 7 (local time), President Lee Jaemyung stated regarding the commencement of negotiations for the "Basic Procurement Agreement" between Korea and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), "This will provide a solid foundation for our defense industry companies to further expand into the NATO defense market."

While visiting Türkiye to attend the NATO summit, President Lee wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter) that he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and discussed ways to further advance Korea-NATO cooperation. He added, "I hope that our companies, equipped with world-class technology and competitiveness, will be able to fully demonstrate their capabilities on a larger stage and create new opportunities for growth."

Yonhap News

President Lee also commented on the Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4) meeting held after his meeting with Secretary General Rutte, saying, "We had a meaningful conversation." He explained, "Today's security environment is so complex and rapidly changing that it cannot be addressed by the efforts of a single country alone. We agreed that when partners from Europe and the Indo-Pacific expand cooperation in the fields of defense industry, advanced technology, and innovation, leveraging each other's strengths, our security will become even more robust, and global peace and stability will be further strengthened."

Furthermore, President Lee emphasized, "The Republic of Korea will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a member of the international community. We will join hands with like-minded countries and do our utmost to ensure the safety of our people’s daily lives and to safeguard global peace."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.