Official website of the President of Russia

Документ   /

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, colleagues,

Allow me to cordially welcome you once again – now in the expanded format.

We are happy to see all of you in Moscow, friends, and I am sure that today’s meeting will be very productive.

The President and I have discussed the most important, and sensitive issues in the narrow format. We noted that bilateral relations are developing well. We also have largely the same approaches to resolving international issues, including the North Korean nuclear programme.

Now we have an opportunity to listen to our colleagues who, I hope, will detail certain some areas of cooperation.

Thank you.

President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in (retranslated): I would like to say once again that it is a great honour to make a state visit to Russia. I would like to thank President Putin and the Russian Government for the warm reception accorded to me and the Korean delegation.

President Putin and I held useful talks on issues of mutual interest in the narrow format. In particular, we discussed guidelines for the future development of South Korea-Russia relations and the developments around the Korean Peninsula. I am happy that President Putin and I can talk about the broad commonalities in our views.

I would also like to note that President Putin and I have similar domestic policies. I know that in his address last March President Putin paid special attention to raising the living standards of the Russian people, emphasizing the importance of increasing minimal wages and improving the welfare of the people in Russia. I am pursuing the same policy in South Korea. We call it a policy of economic development, which focuses on the people. This is a people-oriented economy.

President Putin and I have a similar political philosophy. It is aimed at ensuring a good life for our countries and steady economic progress.

In addition, a complementary and mutually beneficial economic structure of our countries and a common policy aimed at developing Russia’s Far East and Korea’s northern territories will make us the best partners for each other.

I believe our people certainly support the development of bilateral cooperation oriented towards the future. There are even statistics that confirm this. A recent public opinion poll in Russia showed that the majority of people are positive about developing South Korea-Russia relations and are pinning big hopes on the consolidation of bilateral cooperation.

I hope to discuss, in the expanded format, issues of practical cooperation in the three major areas where we can achieve the most impressive success, a synergy of cooperation. I am referring to a search for the driving force of future development, progress in Eurasia’s Far East and improved living standards in South Korea and Russia.

Thank you.

<…>