시민행정신문 이존영 기자 | Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, who is visiting Belgium to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held a meeting with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Raymond Peters in Brussels on April 4 and exchanged views on bilateral relations, economic and trade cooperation, regional and international issues. 

Minister Cho expressed the significance of the meeting as the first high-level contact since the inauguration of New Zealand's new government in November last year, and called for more high-level exchanges between the two countries in the future, and Minister Peters agreed, emphasizing that cooperation with Korea, a trusted partner in the region, is very important to New Zealand. The two ministers agreed that as two of the leading similarly situated countries in the region, they will continue to engage in strategic communication to expand regional coordination and deepen cooperation.  

Noting that the two countries maintain close ties based on complementary trade structures, the two ministers recognized that the Korea-New Zealand FTA, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, is an important foundation for expanding bilateral trade and promoting economic cooperation, and agreed to continue to develop it. 

The two ministers expressed their strong regret at North Korea's continued nuclear and missile development and provocations that threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world, and agreed to continue working together to strengthen the international community's unified response to the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. The two ministers also had a wide-ranging exchange of views on issues of common interest, including the situation in Northeast Asia and cooperation in the In-Tai region. 

This was the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since they took office, and they will continue to communicate closely and develop bilateral relations in a sustainable manner.