By Lee Kap-soo

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first summit with Thailand's new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on the afternoon of September 20.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Thailand's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon congratulated Prime Minister Thavisin on his inauguration in August and called for strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries through the faithful implementation of the Korea-Thailand Joint Action Plan adopted last November.

President Yoon expressed his desire to further strengthen practical cooperation between the two countries in areas such as trade, investment, startup exchanges, finance, and railways, and expressed his hope that the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which is currently under discussion, will be concluded soon. 

Emphasizing that Korea has opened the world's fifth high-speed rail network and has a world-class level of punctuality and safety, he also requested Prime Minister Thavisin’s interest and support for Korean companies to participate in the Southern Thailand High Speed Rail Project and the Bangkok Urban Rail Project.

Prime Minister Thavisin said there is a need to continue to expand bilateral cooperation in areas such as finance and defense. He also expressed his pleasure that Hyundai Motor is promoting the construction of an electric vehicle production plant in Thailand, and hoped to deepen bilateral cooperation in the process of building an electric vehicle ecosystem in Thailand.

On the occasion of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to further enhance bilateral exchanges and continue to identify cooperative projects that will benefit both economies.