|
S. Korea’s Pointed Attention on Iran
 |
|
"Around
2000 South Korean cars named “Moso” are scheduled to be assembled in
Iran in 2003." |
Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami will pay a
visit to
South Korea in the near future at the invitation of
his counterpart President Kim Dae Jung, said South Korean ambassador to Iran
Lee Sang Chul. “The exact date of the trip has not been set yet”, he added.
The meetings between the officials of the two countries will promote mutual
ties especially in economic fields.
Given that
Iran is an important country in the
Middle East and
South Korea enjoys a prominent location in the
Far East, expansion of their relations will also lead to positive
results for their respective regions, he said. Expansion of political and
economic ties between the two countries should be followed by the
strengthening of relations in culture and tourism, and as a result a direct
Tehran-Seoul flight will soon be launched, Sang Chul declared. “It will have
a great impact on the expansion of ties between the two countries”.
Some 4000 Iranian tourists visit
South Korea annually, and a comparable number of South Koreans travel to
Iran every year. It is predicated that the flight will
considerably boost the numbers, he added. “There are lots of tourist
attractions in
Iran which are very interesting for our people and the two
countries recently held talks on signing a memorandum of understanding in this
respect”.
The ambassador said
Seoul plans to allow 510 Iranians to enter the country for work.
“After undergoing training they will be employed by South Korean companies,”
he noted.
The two sides have agreed the Iranian
workers will stay in
South Korea for one to four years, the ambassador said. A number of
South Korean experts are now in
Iran and cooperating with Saipa car manufacturing company.
“Bilateral ties have
been progressing as we near the 40th anniversary of the establishment of
relations between
Iran and
South Korea” he said. Sang Chul said in 2000 the two
sides had their highest trade exchange at $8.3 billion but it dropped to $3
billion in 2001 and for the current year the amount is predicted at $4.3
billion.
According to the
ambassador around 2000 South Korean cars named “Moso” are scheduled to be
assembled in
Iran in 2003. He also called on his country’s
ship-building companies to boost their cooperation with
Iran on modernization of
Iran's fleet and building new ships. |
