MOSCOW, October 27. / TASS /. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and South Korean Foreign Minister Jong Ui Young will hold talks in Moscow on Wednesday. The South Korean minister is on a working visit to the Russian Federation from October 26 to 28.

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova said that the parties plan to discuss the development of bilateral relations, as well as the regional regional regional, including the synchronization of watches “on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In addition, the ministers will take part in the solemn ceremony of closing the Year of Mutual Exchanges between the Russian Federation and the Republic. Korea, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries.

In turn, the Seoul Foreign Ministry expects that the visit of their minister to Moscow will serve to “strengthen strategic ties with Russia” and “deepen friendly relations.”

Stalled inter-Korean talks

The situation on the Korean Peninsula traditionally occupies an important place in Russian-South Korean negotiations. At the moment, alarming are reports of the DPRK launching a ballistic missile from the coastal northeast of the country. “The Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea.

The South Korean side expressed serious expectations of the upcoming meeting on this track. Tuesday agency Yonhap citing the republic’s foreign ministry, it reported that it is expected to ask for Russian diplomatic support to “continue the stalled negotiations on denuclearization with Pyongyang.”

Earlier in the group, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Igor Morgulov and the Special Representative of the Republic of Korea for Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula.

Countering the pandemic

Joint efforts to combat the new coronavirus infection and ensure sanitary and epidemic safety are one of the main topics of the talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted. Under this assumption, one can assume such assumptions as the approval in South Korea of ​​the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V”, as well as the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.

At the same time, Russia and South Korea are already actively cooperating in the production of a domestic vaccine. The one-component vaccine Sputnik Light is also produced in this country.

Trade cooperation

In addition, the ministers at the meeting will discuss trade and economic cooperation between countries, which has been significantly affected by the pandemic. In particular, Russia noted a drop in trade turnover in 2020, which amounted to about $ 24 billion in the pre-crisis 2019, of which 40% fell to the Far East.

“The topic of trade and economic cooperation will be considered, including in the context of the implementation of the concept of nine bridges proposed by President Moon Jae-in at the third Eastern Economic in 2017,” covering cooperation in such areas as energy, transport, shipbuilding, shipbuilding, – said in the message of the Russian diplomatic service. In 2020, the year of the 30th anniversary, the closed “Action Plan for the Implementation of the Nine Bridges 2.0 Initiative”.

Closing the Year of exchanges

2020 was declared the Year of Mutual Exchanges between Russia and the Republic of Korea, however, not all planned events were carried out on time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. By the decision of the leaders of the countries, the thematic Year was extended until the end of 2021. During the visit of the South Korean minister to Moscow, the closing ceremony of the Year of Mutual Exchanges, which was opened at the first meeting of the foreign ministers in Seoul this year, will take place.

The Year’s program includes more than 300 events in political, trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian and other fields, which are designed to promote the development of bilateral ties and devices for establishing contacts between the two countries.