SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- Slovenia plans to establish an embassy in South Korea by the end of this year and hopes the opening will serve as an occasion to deepen bilateral cooperation, its top diplomat said Tuesday. Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar, who was visiting Seoul this week, made the remark at the start of his talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul. "In order to organize everything that is corresponding to the opening of this embassy, I look forward to your help in that sense, and I'm sure this will even in the mutual benefit enhance our bilateral cooperation," Logar said. Slovenia currently has embassies in China, Japan and India for the Asian region. South Korea also does not have an embassy in Slovenia, and its embassy to Austria concurrently serves as the mission to Slovenia. In Tuesday's talks, Logar also expressed hope that two-way cooperation will further grow in areas, such as tourism, going forward, citing high demand for travel to his country by South Koreans. Chung, in turn, appreciated that Logar was his first counterpart among those of the European Union (EU) member countries to hold an in-person meeting despite limitations due to COVID-19. Chung hoped that the two sides will hold productive talks on ways to strengthen cooperation at the EU level as well, as Slovenia is due to take over as the rotating EU chair in the latter half. South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stands alongside his Slovenian counterpart, Anze Logar, as they pose for photos ahead of their bilateral talks at the foreign ministry in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- Slovenia plans to establish an embassy in South Korea by the end of this year and hopes the opening will serve as an occasion to deepen bilateral cooperation, its top diplomat said Tuesday. Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar, who was visiting Seoul this week, made the remark at the start of his talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul. "In order to organize everything that is corresponding to the opening of this embassy, I look forward to your help in that sense, and I'm sure this will even in the mutual benefit enhance our bilateral cooperation," Logar said. Slovenia currently has embassies in China, Japan and India for the Asian region. South Korea also does not have an embassy in Slovenia, and its embassy to Austria concurrently serves as the mission to Slovenia. In Tuesday's talks, Logar also expressed hope that two-way cooperation will further grow in areas, such as tourism, going forward, citing high demand for travel to his country by South Koreans. Chung, in turn, appreciated that Logar was his first counterpart among those of the European Union (EU) member countries to hold an in-person meeting despite limitations due to COVID-19. Chung hoped that the two sides will hold productive talks on ways to strengthen cooperation at the EU level as well, as Slovenia is due to take over as the rotating EU chair in the latter half. South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stands alongside his Slovenian counterpart, Anze Logar, as they pose for photos ahead of their bilateral talks at the foreign ministry in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Slovenia is set to establish an embassy in Seoul this year, and Tuesday its visiting top diplomat asked for South Korea’s cooperation ahead of its opening.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar, at the start of bilateral talks with Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, stressed that one of the reasons he visited was to prepare to open the embassy.

“In order to organize everything that is corresponding to the opening of this embassy, I look forward to your help in that sense, and I’m sure this will even in the mutual benefit enhance our bilateral cooperation,” Logar said.

The two countries established diplomatic ties Nov. 18, 1992, but still lack diplomatic missions in each other’s countries. Slovenia’s Japanese Embassy has been in charge of Korean matters, while the Korean Embassy in Austria serves as its mission to Slovenia.

Chung welcomed the opening of the embassy, saying it would serve as an important chance for bilateral relations to develop, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In turn, Logar said the decision to open the embassy was made, in considering the importance of its ties with Korea, raising hope that the two countries could further promote trade and investment in the future.

With next year marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Slovenia, the two sides agreed to develop ties in various areas, including politics, economy and culture.

Chung said it was meaningful to talk with Logar on bilateral relations, as well as on ways to expand Korea-EU ties, as Slovenia is set to take over the presidency of the EU for the second half of this year.

He also said he appreciated that Logar was the first EU country to hold in-person talks in Seoul amid the COVID-19 situation.

By Ahn Sung-mi ()


sahn@heraldcorp.com