The Georgian Embassy celebrated Georgia Day at the 12th week of The Korea Herald’s Eurasian Economic and Cultural forum on Dec. 29 at Sebitseom. The embassy helped arrange a wine tasting event and showcased Georgia’s history, traditions, cultural and touristic potential through video clips to CEOs attending the forum. “Georgia counts around 8,000 years of uninterrupted viticulture and unique winemaking, and has more than 525 types of indigenous grape varieties,” said Ge

Polish Ambassador to Korea Piotr Ostaszewski defended his country’s actions on the Poland-Belarus border, saying the current situation was not just a migration issue but a political crisis stirred up by the Aleksandra Lukashenka regime as retaliation for European Union sanctions against Belarus. Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East are stranded on the Belarusian side of the border trying to cross into Poland. The United Nations last week called on the two countries to addre

The Korea-Arab Society held a logo contest commemorating next year’s 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations of South Korea with Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia on Dec. 22 to enhance mutual cooperation. 　 The contest was sponsored by Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co-hosted by the Korea-Arab Society, Korean embassies in Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia and Jordanian, Moroccan and Saudi Arabian embassies in Korea.　 According to the Korea-Arab Society, 154 logo designs fro

The ASEAN-Korea Center’s sixth academy essay contest held from August to November praised creative proposals on transforming youth’s mutual perceptions in an accelerated digital transformation era, acknowledging the strengthened partnership on trade and investment between Southeast Asia and Korea. The AKC held its sixth academy essay contest award ceremony and webinar on Dec. 21 via Zoom. Co-organized by the Korean Association for Southeast Asian Studies, Seoul National University

   COVID-19 provided valuable lessons for future cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea in health, biopharmaceuticals, energy and technology, said Indonesian charge d’affaires Zelda Wulan Kartika at the Eurasian Economic and Cultural Forum on Wednesday. According to Kartika, by promoting strategic projects and investments in infrastructure, the food industry and the digital economy, and expanding market access through e-commerce, tourism and digital platforms, Indonesia

GREAT VICTORY DAY – Bangladesh Ambassador Md. Delwar Hossain hoists Bangladeshi flag and delivers welcome remarks at the Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul on Thursday, paying a rich tribute to Bangladesh’s first president, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is known as the “father of the nation and the valiant freedom fighters and violated women, whose supreme sacrifices ushered in the independence through a nine-month historic war of independence.“ (Embassy of Bangladesh i

The Embassy of Argentina in Seoul opened the Mafalda Cultural Space to showcase Latin culture in Korea on Thursday. Mafalda is a cultural icon for Argentinians that originates from title of a comic strip character started in 1964 created by Joaquin Salvador Lavado Tejon also known as Quino. The cartoon was eventually published in 27 languages. Mafalda is the name of curious, lively and dedicated 6-year-old main character girl intending social equality and highlighting rationalism that became

The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul observed International Migrants Day 2021 with the theme “Harnessing the Potential of Human Mobility” on Sunday in Seoul. At the event, 17 Bangladeshi Employment Permit System workers received awards from the Korean government in recognition of their achievements of having worked with the same employer for the longest period, attained Korean language proficiency and engaged in voluntary services. Ten Korean employers were also honored for employing th

Israel is to donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine against COVID-19 to African countries through the international COVAX vaccine distribution program, the Embassy of Israel in Seoul said in a press statement Thursday. Israel made the pledge after discussing the donation with Israel’s prime minister’s office, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health. According to the embassy, Israel has strengthened relations with African countries, which saw

India is an attractive investment destination for Korean entities, with the country’s $1.4 trillion infrastructure development plan representing attractive opportunities, Indian Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan said at the Eurasian Economic and Cultural Forum 2021, hosted Wednesday by The Korea Herald. The ambassador said that the size of Indian economy, India’s infrastructure development plans, demography and digital ecosystem, outstanding human resource, private equity, v

Today South Korea is one of the largest investment partners of Uzbekistan. Over the years of cooperation, the total volume of declared Korean investments into the economy of Uzbekistan has exceeded $7 billion. 　 Currently, the number of enterprises with Korean investments in Uzbekistan has exceeded 900, of which about 550 are formed with 100 percent Korean capital. The activities of these enterprises specialize mainly in trade, light mining, chemicals, food, mechanical engineering and metalwork

The foundation for the development of bilateral relations between our states was laid out on Dec. 30, 1991, when South Korea was among the first to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan. Diplomatic relations were established on Jan. 29, 1992. Since that moment, an active political dialogue has been conducted between the two states, as evidenced by the 17 summit meetings held over this 29-year period. The regular dialogue between the leaders of two countries, which has become one of the disti

 The Qatar Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday celebrated the country’s national day, commemorating the unification of Qatar on Dec. 1878. Qatar’s national day, which falls on Dec. 18, marks the anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani. In 1878, he unified the peninsula bordered by Saudi Arabia and surrounded by the Persian Gulf. Delivering welcome remarks at the annual celebration, Qatar Ambassador to Korea Khalid Ibrahim al-Hamar welcomed the progress and

Globally, more than 970 million people live with a mental health disorder, corresponding to more than 1 in 10 people. Mental health is a challenge that concerns all nations and a large part of the population in our modern society.  The 2021 World Happiness Report by the United Nations saw Denmark ranked second. However, in Denmark, which has a population of about one-tenth the size of Korea, with 5.8 million people, it is estimated that 8 percent of the population has depression and 25 per

Kazakhstan marked the 30th anniversary of its independence Monday commemorating the development, peace and prosperity it has achieved since then. Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union on Dec. 16 1991. Kazakhstan Ambassador Bakyt Dyussenbayev declared 2021 as significant year for Kazakhstan-Korean relations due to the state visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the first visit by a foreign head of state since beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The state visit

Despite the prolonged pandemic, Vietnam is on track to draw foreign and Korean investors, and addressing their difficulties remain the nation’s top priority, said Vuong Dinh Hue, president of the Vietnam National Assembly, on Saturday. “Vietnam has created all favorable conditions to assist foreign experts and managers, including Korean ones, in sustaining their economic operation,” Vuong said in an email interview with The Korea Herald. He arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a fo

Korean and Colombian cuisines have a lot in common, according to Alvaro Clavijo, a top Colombian chef on a tour of Korea. Both are concentrated on nutritional completion and components of all essential food groups on the plate, he told the Korea Herald. Clavijo was in Korea for a brief visit, preparing exclusive meals and hosting a class at Kyonggi University. The following is taken from an interview with The Korea Herald: Korea Herald: Please tell us about Colombian food. What is a typical Co

The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea hosted a reception Thursday marking the 60th anniversary of Australia-Korea diplomatic relations. The reception was attended by Australian Ambassador Catherine Raper, Posco Vice-President Lee Jae-wan, and KOTRA foreign investment ombudsman Kim Sung-jin. Raper said that public and private engagements between Australia and Korea throughout the anniversary year had highlighted a long history of close cooperation and friendship. They had also showcased

INDEPENDENCE DAY – Finnish Ambassador Pekka Metso delivers welcome remarks at his residence in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, to mark his country’s 104th Independence Day. Finland gained independence from the Soviet Union on Dec. 6, 1917. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald)

Kazakhstan will push forward in developing renewable energy sources as part of the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy, Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin has reaffirmed. Chairing a meeting of the Council for the Improvement of the Investment Climate on Friday, Mamin reaffirmed the plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Under the plans, the country plans to increase use of renewables to account for 15 percent of its energy use from the current 3 percent by 2030 and to plant