South Korea and Portugal ratcheted up bilateral economic and political ties during a five-day visit to Seoul by the European nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Rui Chancerelle de Machete, which included a meeting with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

The officials discussed President Park Geun-hye’s policy on inter-Korean relations, the situation in Ukraine and an array of bilateral issues ranging from cooperation in multilateral organizations to possible future meet-ups. The two sides also signed MOUs on trade and people-to-people exchanges.

“I believe the recent speech by the president in Dresden was important in defining new aspects of South Korea’s policy. It seems very interesting and I hope it will be successful in the future,” Machete said in an interview with The Korea Herald at a hotel in Seoul on Friday, one day after his meeting with Yun.

Park delivered a speech in Dresden, dubbed “an initiative for unification,” during a presidential visit to Europe. In the speech, she outlined support for North Korean children, the elderly and people in rural areas as steps to improve trust and decrease inter-Korean tensions.

“It is a very realistic way to improve the conditions of the people,” Machete said of the Dresden speech. “There is some evidence that in the long run it will produce some positive consequences.”

They also made plans for a joint economic forum, this year’s political consultations and a possible visit to Seoul this year by Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva.

Machete, 74, an elder statesman who has headed half a dozen government ministries over a career spanning two generations, appeared visibly concerned when he spoke about the crisis in Ukraine.

He said he and Yun extensively discussed Ukraine and how the international community should react to Russia.

“We understand that Russia is not an easy partner, but Russia in the long run will be essential for the progress of Europe,” he said. “But the doctrine that Russia is adopting is a dangerous doctrine. Imagine if every country followed this idea in this way, of rebuilding geographically and politically the territory of countries in Europe. This would be truly a chaotic situation, and a dangerous one.”

On the bilateral front, Korea and Portugal inked two MOUs. Yun and Machete signed an agreement on youth mobility, aiming to grant working holiday visas for up to 200 Korean young people to visit Portugal and 200 Portuguese to visit Korea by December.

Officials from the Korea International Trade Association and Portugal Global, the country’s trade and investment agency, inked an agreement to promote two-way trade and investment.

Machete said the two sides had agreed on mutual support for South Korean and Portuguese seats in international organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Machete said he asked for South Korean support in his nation’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council in the 2015-2017 term. The election will be held at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in November in New York City.

The two sides also laid out plans for bilateral exchanges this year, including a political consultation meeting to be led by their respective director general-level ministry officials, as well as a fourth meeting of the South Korea-Portugal Joint Economic Committee. There are also plans for a Portuguese film festival to be organized in Seoul next month.

Machete led a delegation of nearly 30 government officials and corporate executives from the electronics, wine and applied materials sectors, as well as Portuguese media.

The meeting took place after Yun invited Machete to visit South Korea when they talked on the sidelines of the 11th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in India last November.

Machete’s visit to Korea marks the second in less than four years for a foreign minister of Portugal, which established diplomatic relations with South Korea more than half a century ago.

The former Portuguese foreign minister, Luis Amado, came to Seoul in 2010 with cooperation on renewables high on his agenda. Four years on, an agreement has yet to be inked. Machete said he does not see why the two sides cannot close a deal, however.

Machete, who was drafted last year out of semi-retirement to support a shaky coalition government, discussed European matters with the pragmatism of an economist.

“I was not retired, properly speaking, as I was working as a professor,” he said. “This tremendous effort that the coalition partners were doing was something that needed to be supported. So, when the prime minister asked me to lend him my support, I thought it was important that I do that.

“The development that the European Union is facing is difficult, and I thought I could help. It is not just Portugal but all those countries that take part in the euro (monetary union). There are still a lot of things to do,” he said.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)