AGERPRES special correspondent Oana Ghita reports: President Klaus Iohannis began his official visit to the Republic of Korea on Monday.

He laid a wreath at the National Cemetery in Seoul. The site is dedicated to those who gave their lives for the country and it is located in a spectacular landscape of flora and fauna.

On this first day of his visit, Klaus Iohannis will also visit the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).

The head of state is on an official visit to the Republic of Korea from Monday to Wednesday, at the invitation of his counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol. In this context, several memoranda will be signed in the areas of defence, energy and cooperation in emergency situations.

The official delegation accompanying the president of Romania to Seoul also includes members of the Romanian Government - National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar, Foreign Affairs Minister Luminita Odobescu, Energy Sebastian Minister Burduja and head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat.

On the occasion of the visit, the "Joint Declaration on strengthening the Romania - Republic of Korea Strategic Partnership" will be adopted at the highest level, a document that will set out the main directions of cooperation aimed at by both countries for the next 10 years.

"The intensification of political and diplomatic contacts between the two countries, the positive trend of bilateral trade exchanges, as well as the multitude of areas in which there is potential and mutual interest in collaboration are the main premises that underlie the decision to strengthen the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the official visit to Seoul, the first at the level of head of state in the last 16 years," the Presidential Administration said when announcing the visit.

On Tuesday, Klaus Iohannis will be welcomed by his counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol. The political consultations between the two heads of state will focus on strengthening the Strategic Partnership, political-diplomatic and defence cooperation, key regional and global challenges, and boosting sectoral areas, with a focus on increasing trade and investment in green and nuclear energy, new technologies, IT&C, environment and climate change management, infrastructure, health, education and other new areas. It will also highlight the special link that human-to-human and cultural exchanges, which have grown remarkably in recent years, represent for the two countries.

In the presence of the president of Romania and the president of the Republic of Korea, a series of documents relevant to the strengthening of bilateral relations will be signed, covering: defence, nuclear energy, investment and foreign trade, cooperation in emergency situations and disaster management, cooperation in culture, media, youth and sports.

During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the president of Romania will meet with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, to discuss the main objectives of the bilateral economic relationship and to evaluate the results of the 10th Joint Committee for Industrial Cooperation (Seoul, 25 March 2024).

On the occasion of his official visit to the Republic of Korea, Iohannis will meet with representatives of the Romanian community and business environment and will visit the Romanian traditional art exhibition "Insight Romania."

On Wednesday, the head of state will visit the Doosan Enerbility Production Complex, Changwon, (Busan), where he will hold a series of discussions with key stakeholders on new challenges and opportunities in the area of renewable energy and small modular reactors (SMR).

The Republic of Korea is the first country in the Asia-Pacific region with which Romania has upgraded its relations to a Strategic Partnership, signed in 2008. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Florentina Peia; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)