South Korea and Portugal have discussed ways to expand their bilateral economic cooperation in diverse areas including joint efforts to advance into diverse markets, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Tae-ho and his Portuguese counterpart Jorge Costa Oliveira held the fourth economic joint committee in Seoul on Tuesday, according to the ministry.

During the meeting, both discussed ways to increase cooperation in such areas as space technology, while working together to encourage their businesses to make a foray into third-party markets, the ministry said.

In particular, they agreed to seek to sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at beefing up cooperation in the IT sector, the ministry said.

The South Korea-Portugal joint committee was launched under a treaty signed in 1984. The Tuesday meeting marked the first of its kind since the heads of the two countries held a summit in Seoul in 2014.

Their bilateral trade has been on a steady rise for the past few years, with combined amount of imports and exports estimated at $730 million last year, up from the previous year's $670 million, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)