New opportunities abound for further political and economic cooperation between Europe and Asia, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in an economic forum hosted by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.

About 90 French and Korean business and government leadership, including French ambassador to Korea Fabrice Legerri, FKCCI chairman David-Pierre Jalicon, Incheon Free Economic Zone high officials and leading French entrepreneurs attended the forum entitled “Beyond the Eurozone Crisis.”

Referring to the current eurozone economic crisis as growth-pains, Raffarin emphasized that France needs to deepen its ties with both regional and Asian neighbors, such as Germany and Korea.

Citing Siemens, a leading German engineering and electronics firm, Raffarin said that Korea has become the new competitive partner in Asia amid the eurozone crisis.

Noting the focus of Koreans on local and internal development, Raffarin said the country appeared to be preparing to aim for the global market.

“Korea is a country of long term, and I am very impressed with the Korean performance. Its corporate management and ambition are extremely strong,” he added, acclaiming the consistency in Koreans’ determination for continous progress.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)