Yoon's flurry of diplomacy continues on day 2 in office

• Published date: 11 May 2022
• Publication title: The Korea Times

br By Nam Hyun-wooFollowing his inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol spent his second day in office receiving dignitaries from various countries including Indonesia, Central African Republic (CAR), Canada, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Nigeria and Ecuador, who also attended the previous day's ceremony.From Indonesia, former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the current head of the country's ruling Democratic Party of Struggle, paid a visit to Yoon.

"Korea and Indonesia both have experiences of achieving democracy and economic development after overcoming historical hardships, and the experiences have contributed to the close partnership between the two countries," Yoon said. "I look forward to seeing Indonesia's leadership as the president country of this year's Group of 20 summit and the chair country of ASEAN next year, and ask for Indonesia's support for Korea.

" Megawati responded that Indonesian President Joko Widodo has sent his regards to Yoon and asked the new president to visit Indonesia in the near future. Indonesia is Korea's only special strategic partner country in ASEAN, after the status of their bilateral ties was upgraded during former President Moon Jae-in's visit to the country in 2017. Widodo paid a return visit to Seoul in September 2018. The two countries are cooperating in a range of joint projects, including the fighter jet development program called the KF-X (Korean Fighter Experimental) here and the IF-X in Indonesia.

Last November, the two sides reached a final agreement on the cost-sharing for the program, with Indonesia shouldering 20 percent of the costs to be paid by 2026. Indonesia will also provide in-kind payments for 30 percent of its share, which are expected to be delivered as palm oil. br After meeting Megawati, Yoon had a meeting with Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

"After the two countries formed their diplomatic relations, Korea and CAR have been maintaining very friendly relations, and Korea is playing its role for the progress of CAR through development...