Phl, South Korea ink tourism, social security deals

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang Woo. (PCOO)

The Philippines and South Korea on Monday signed three agreements following the bilateral meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at The Westin Chosun Busan Hotel.

The agreements are seen to boost cooperation on social security, tourism, culture and sports, as well as the much-anticipated free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

· Agreement on social security between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Korea. The signatories were Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha.

· Implementation program of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on tourism cooperation between the Department of Tourism of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, signed by Secretary of Tourism Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo.

· Joint statement by the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea on the early achievement package of the negotiations of the Philippines-Korea free trade agreement. It was signed by Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez and Minister for Trade Yoo Myung-hee.

· MOU on cooperation in the field of education

President Duterte also thanked President Moon for South Korea’s $100,000 donation for the earthquake victims in Mindanao.

“Clearly, at no other time in our shared history have the bonds between our people this strong,” President Duterte said in thanking the South Korean leader.

This year, the Philippines and South Korea commemorate 70 years of bilateral relations coinciding with the 2019 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Commemorative Summit. (PCOO)