Korea-Saudi Arabia summit (January 2022)
President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 18 attended a summit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two exchanged opinions on the advance of Korean companies in the Saudi nuclear power market and weapons exports.
Cheong Wa Dae said President Moon's visit to Saudi Arabia resulted in the conclusion of 11 agreements on cooperation in education, resource transactions between Korean corporations and Aramco, and collaboration in hydrogen supply networks.
Korea-UAE summit (January 2022)
President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 16 held a summit with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum at the Expo Dubai 2020's Leadership Hall. On a state visit to the Arab nation, the president in the talks discussed methods of bilateral cooperation including in the defense industry.
The two countries concluded a contract worth KRW 4.18 trillion on Korea's export of its self-developed M-SAM2, a mid-range ground-to-air missile, to the UAE.
The biggest export of a single Korean-developed weapons system, the deal is expected to promote worldwide the excellence of the Korean defense industry and accelerate follow-up cooperative projects.
Signing the contract was Tawazun Economic Council, which manages the supply contract between the UAE Ministry of Defense and Korean defense contractors such as LIG Nex1, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Defense.
Korea-Uzbekistan summit (December 2021)
President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 17 and visiting Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreed at their summit at Cheong Wa Dae to bolster bilateral cooperation in the diversification of rare metal supply chains and in sectors like energy, infrastructure, and medical and health care.
Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in energy, infrastructure, and information and communications technology and strive to quickly conclude a bilateral trade agreement.
On cooperation in the supply of rare earth metals, the two countries decided to diversify the supply chain network for such metals by using as a hub a bilateral rare metal center that opened in April 2019 in Chirchik, a city northwest of the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. The two countries will also widen cooperation in the development of renewable energy and improvement of energy efficiency.
Korea-Australia summit (December 2021)
President Moon Jae-in, who is on a state visit to Australia, on Dec. 13 held a bilateral summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House in Canberra on boosting cooperative ties between the two countries.
Both leaders agreed to continue systematic cooperation in their respective country's response to COVID-19 and set up supply chains for key Australian natural resources such as rare earth metals and lithium.
To mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties this year, Seoul and Canberra agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic relationship.
Korea-Costa Rica summit (November 2021)
President Moon Jae-in and visiting Costa Rican counterpart Carlos Alvarado Quesada on Nov. 23 held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae and announced that their bilateral ties were upgraded to an "action-oriented comprehensive partnership."
Their talks came ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. Costa Rica leads global discussions on the environment and peace and is a traditional ally of Korea that shares universal values. It is also a key partner country that has kept expanding trade and investment with Korea since a Korea-Central America free trade agreement took effect in November 2019.
The two leaders also adopted a joint statement on raising cooperation in specific sectors like economy, trade and investment, the digital sector, eco-friendly affairs, science and technology, innovation, health and medicine.
Korea-Hungary summit (November 2021)
President Moon Jae-in and Hungarian President Janos Ader on Nov. 3 agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to the level of a "strategic partnership" after their summit at the presidential palace in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
At a joint news conference after their talks, President Moon said the two leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation. He added that they will work together to expand it further in promising future industries like electric vehicles and batteries.
On the occasion of the summit, both countries signed six memorandums of understanding, including one on joint responses to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and another on a letter of intent for youth exchange and cooperation in family policy.
Korea-Mongolia summit (September 2021)
President Moon Jae-in on Sept. 10 held a video summit with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, agreeing to upgrade bilateral ties to a "strategic partnership" from a comprehensive one.
Both leaders adopted a joint declaration on the development of the strategic partnership, agreeing to deepen and widen cooperation in five areas: economy, trade and investment; education, science and technology, environment and health care; cultural, people-to-people and tourism exchanges; and cooperation on the global stage and within regions.
To deepen understanding between Koreans and Mongolians and widen cultural and human exchanges, the two leaders agreed to mutually support development of Korean studies in Mongolia and Mongolian studies in Korea. To this end, efforts will go toward fostering scholars and researchers on both sides specializing in the study of each other's country. Seoul also pledged to bolster Korean-language education in Mongolia.
Korea-Colombia summit (August 2021)
President Moon Jae-in and Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez in their summit at Cheong Wa Dae on Aug. 25 agreed on the comprehensive expansion and development of bilateral cooperation in the post-pandemic era.
Since Korea hosted this year's P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030) Summit and Colombia will host it next year, both leaders agreed on joint efforts for responding to climate change.
After their talks, they adopted a joint statement on their vision for the development of a new bilateral relationship. The statement featured the two leaders' decision to exercise and strengthen their bilateral free trade agreement, which took effect in 2016, for recovery of the economy and society after the pandemic.
Korea-Kazakhstan summit (August 2021)
President Moon Jae-in on Aug. 17 held summit talks with Kazak President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on expanding their strategic partnership and boosting bilateral cooperation.
Both sides reviewed the results of bilateral cooperation projects carried out since their 2019 summit, and discussed further development of ties ahead of next year, which marks the 30th anniversary of relations, and improvement of practical cooperation.
The two presidents adopted a joint statement on expanding their strategic partnership that contains the commitments of Seoul and Almaty to boost their partnership, practical ties, and cooperation between Korea and Central Asia.
Korea-Netherlands summit (July 2021)
President Moon Jae-in and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on July 7 agreed in a virtual summit on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations to strengthen bilateral ties.
The two leaders exchanged a wide range of opinions on enhancing relations, the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, practical cooperation and global issues.
In a joint news statement, they stressed harnessing the respective strengths of each country in innovative industries to play a leading role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.