Against the backdrop of progress towards signing a free trade agreement between Israel and South Korea, President Reuven Rivlin today (Tuesday July 16, 2019), hosted a special event for leaders of Korean industry held by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) together with KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan.

The President thanked the Chairman of KCCI for his invitation and said: "Israel is the country that made the desert bloom. We faced great challenges, so we had to develop great solutions. We see challenges as opportunities - this is the secret of Israel as a start-up nation." At the end of his speech, the president called upon the leaders of the Korean business community to come to Israel and explore the many excellent opportunities for collaboration.

Among the participants were heads of companies and corporations in the fields of automotive, gas, electronics and construction.

Chairman of KCCI Korea Park Yong-maan: "This is a significant and important visit for us since the two Chambers of Commerce, the Israeli and the Korean, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the first time in history. We will continue to promote Korean delegations to Israel in order to deepen the fruitful cooperation between us as much as possible. I thank the President for being with us at this morning's meeting."

Immediately afterwards, the president opened the Korea-Israel Economic Forum together with Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-hee and Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Huh Chang-soo. The president, the trade minister and Chairman of the Israel Export Institute Adiv Baruch spoke at the forum.

At the end of the forum, MOUs were signed: in the field of trade between the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Israel Export Institute and nd in the field of robotics between the Daegu municipality and the Israel Export Institute.

“The importance of education, the drive for excellence, the spirit of innovation, and a commitment to democracy and the rule of law: these shared values and traditions created the Miracle on the Han River and turned the People of the Book into the Start-up Nation. As we both seek to adapt our economies to the rapid changes of the fourth industrial revolution, now is the time to expand the economic ties between our two countries,” said the president. President Rivlin invited the participants in the seminar to visit Israel as part of business delegations from all sectors, emphasizing: "I would especially like to invite the Government of Korea to send a high-level business delegation to Israel led by an economic minister of your government. Today Israel enjoys close strategic relations with Egypt and Jordan, and growing ties with the Gulf States and other Arab countries. We see great opportunity in these growing relations. We want to see you in Israel. Let us deepen the ties between our countries and between our peoples. Let us build together a strong bridge between us, a brave bridge to the future.”

The President encouraged Korean companies and businessmen to work with the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Trade through the Israeli Embassy to explore Israeli technologies with them and find investment opportunities. "I believe that increased cooperation between us can benefit not only the people of Israel and the people of Korea, but also to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East. Together, we can bring the blessings of technological innovation to the peoples and economies of the Middle East, and help boost their economic growth. We look forward to completing our free trade agreement that will allow us to further deepen our cooperation,” he said.

Chairman of the Israel Export Institute, Adiv Baruch: "This forum is only the beginning and from here we can only grow. Israel gained its independence and developed solutions to the challenges of the time. Turning challenge into opportunity is also what led us to become world-class leaders in innovation. The proof of this is the large number of R&D centers of international companies opening in Israel. Strengthening our trade ties will lead to gains for both countries. The world is developing at an extraordinary speed. We have to keep pace and we will. In Israel we believe in the power of sharing information and know-how and that is what will do in this forum, building a wider bridge between Korea and Israel. "

Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-hee: "The free trade agreement will significantly expand our relationship as well as the market, and we hope it will be signed soon. It will give both countries a boost in a variety of fields. Israel is one of the most innovative countries in the world and the Korean government continues to encourage the growth and deepening of trade relations between the two countries. In this forum we hope to create cooperation and create new business opportunities. The Talmud teaches us that if your friend has vegetables, offer him meat. That is, we must identify what are the shortcomings and weaknesses of our members in order to complement them and bring prosperity to both sides." The minister ended her speech with the word ‘lehitraot’ (see you soon) in Hebrew and emphasized the desire to deepen and strengthen ties between the two countries.

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