Press release, 15 October 2014
On her official visit to South Korea, the Speaker of the Seimas, Loreta Graužinienė, and the delegation led by her met with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Chung Ui hva. It is for the first time in the history of bilateral relations that the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament visits South Korea. Interestingly, the meeting of the heads of the parliaments happened to take place on the day when diplomatic relations between the two states had been established twenty-three years ago.
Photos by Olga Posaškova, the Seimas Office
While welcoming the Lithuanian delegation, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea recalled his visit to Lithuania nine years ago and meetings with the then President of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, and the then Speaker of the Seimas, Artūras Paulauskas. He said the Lithuanian capital Vilnius had left an impression of a beautiful and neat city with a wonderful Old Town. Chung Ui hva noted that the two states, though distant geographically, share the same approach to democracy, market economy and human values.
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Mrs Graužinienė said that close parliamentary cooperation contributes to the development of closer political, economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries. In recent years, South Korea and Lithuania have been actively cooperating in international organisations. The Speaker of the Seimas asked for South Korean support for Lithuania’s efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea said that his country sees Lithuania as a country worth working together with and pledged his personal support.
The meeting also stressed the importance of South Korea’s support for Lithuania in dealing with the issue of energy independence. The FSRU Independence built in Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is already on its way to Lithuania.
Chung Ui hva encouraged to look for innovative ways of interparliamentary cooperation to contribute to the solution of relevant regional and global problems. Finally, Mrs Graužinienė invited Chung Ui hva to pay a visit to Lithuania.
Moreover, the Lithuanian delegation met with members of the National Assembly Group for Interparliamentary Relations with the Republic of Lithuania.
Furthermore, the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Driving Licences was signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the Speaker’s visit to Seoul. The Agreement was signed by the Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Cho Tae-yul, and the Lithuanian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Lina Antanavičienė.
The Speaker of the Seimas and the Lithuanian delegation are still to meet the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, representatives of Korea Trade–Investment Promotion Agency, the Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, and the President of the National Information Society Agency.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6002
Dalia Valentienė, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6030, mob. +370 698 42 786
