Cheong Wa Dae

Joint Statement on the Comprehensive Partnership Between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea

At the invitation of His Excellency Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea, made a state visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on May 1-3, 2016.

This marked the first visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran by the President of the Republic of Korea since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1962. The Iranian side welcomed this historic visit and the Korean side expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality accorded to President Park and her entourage.

During the summit meeting held at the Saad-Abad Palace on May 2, both sides shared the view that there is great potential for mutual cooperation, reaffirmed their commitment to further promote the existing bilateral relations in diverse areas, and agreed to develop a comprehensive partnership.

The two Presidents welcomed the agreement reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Group of 5+1 on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on 14 July 2015 and highlighted the importance of the faithful implementation of the JCPOA by all the participants.

The two Presidents recognized the need for further cooperation towards stability and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and the international community, and agreed to increase their efforts as follows:

I. Cooperation in the political area Both sides agreed to institutionalize meetings between governmental officials of various levels in diverse areas.

The two sides agreed that the Foreign Ministers will meet at least once a year, preferably in the respective capitals alternately, or on the occasion of international meetings attended by both ministers.

Both sides agreed, in addition to the current Deputy Minister-level policy consultations between the Foreign Ministries, to consider holding issue-specific meetings, if necessary, to address various regional and international issues.

Both sides agreed to encourage their local governments to foster cooperative relations, including through the establishment of sister-city relations and the exchange of cultural delegations.

II. Cooperation in the economic area

Both sides agreed to annually convene the Iran-Korea Joint Economic Commission, and continue to discuss ways and means to promote economic cooperation between the two countries through the regular holding of the Joint Economic Commission.

Both sides welcomed the visit of the Korean business delegation to Iran as well as the Iran-Korea Business Forum and one-to-one business counseling held on this occasion, shared the view that bilateral trade is the foundation to solidifying economic cooperation, and agreed to exert common efforts to increase trade, including through cooperation in customs matters, the facilitation of maritime transport, and the provision of market information to each side.

Both sides affirmed the importance of creating an investment-friendly environment in expediting mutual investment between businesses of the two countries, including enhanced banking cooperation among financial institutions by providing timely information on the investment environment, and by making efforts to remove impediments to investment activities.

Both sides decided to expand trade in energy, including oil and gas, and cooperate on joint stockpiling of Iranian crude oil in Korea for the mutual benefits of providing a stable energy supply to Korea and a sales destination for Iran as well as to carry out a variety of joint gas infrastructure projects, such as liquefaction plants and pipelines. Moreover, both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between governments, companies or research institutions to carry out joint projects in new energy industries, such as smart grids and the AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure), while expanding infrastructure, such as construction of power plants in Iran, improvement of performance and building of electricity grids, to enhance the efficiency of electricity supply.

Both sides agreed to increase information exchange, exchanges of experts, and technological cooperation so as to reinforce the cooperation in the infrastructure sector that includes roads, railroads, airports, ports, urban development, and water resources.

Both sides shared views on the importance of cooperation in health and medicine to improve public health, and agreed to expand Korea’s participation in Iran’s hospital construction projects, sharing of experience in the operation of hospitals, and cooperation in areas such as health insurance management, pharmaceutical productions, medical devices, and joint medical research.

Both sides shared the view that science, technology and information & communication are an important foundation in economic development and agreed to increase mutual cooperation in these fields, and welcomed the advance in substantive cooperation between private sectors including telecommunication businesses from the two countries.

Both sides also agreed to make efforts to expand the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of maritime affairs and fishing, environment and forestry.

III. Cooperation in the cultural, education and tourism areas

Both sides agreed to encourage more exchanges in cultural affairs between the two countries, both of which have a rich history and abundant cultural heritage. Furthermore, both sides agreed to designate the year 2017 as the Year of Korea-Iran Cultural Exchange. In order to boost cultural activities, Iran and Korea expressed their readiness to negotiate establishing cultural centers in their respective capitals in the near future.

Recalling that the Korean side has successfully operated a college level Iranian Language Department for decades, Iran and Korea expressed their readiness to negotiate establishing a Korean Language Department in an Iranian University at the earliest convenience.

Both sides, emphasizing the need to nurture joint research programs between their universities and research institutes, agreed to encourage the exchange of professors and students at the academic level.

Both sides noted the role of tourism as an essential element in fostering affinity and deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples. In this regard, the two sides agreed to take necessary measures to promote tourism, including simplification of the visa process, establishment of direct f lights, and mutual participation in each other’s tourism fairs.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in various fields including sports, media, and arts, amongst others.

Both sides reaffirmed that the Tehran Street in Seoul and the Seoul Street and Park in Tehran stand as symbols of the friendship between the two countries, and agreed to mutually cooperate to establish the K-Tower in Iran and I-Tower in Korea, as a focal point of cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries.

IV. Regional cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in the conduct of international relations, and agreed to constructively contribute to the promotion and strengthening of international peace and security.

Both sides agreed to continue cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral level with a view to achieving peace, stability, and security in Northeast Asia and the Middle East.

Expressing their support for the objectives of the nuclear weapons-free world, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the NPT and denuclearization. Both sides supported the efforts towards these ends, and shared the view that nuclear weapons development can never enhance security.

Both sides underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed support for the aspirations of the Korean people for peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.

Both sides shared the view on the seriousness of the Afghan refugee crisis. Noting that Iran has accepted a substantial number of Afghan refugees, the Republic of Korea decided to provide humanitarian assistance of USD 10 million for Afghan refugees in Iran in 2016 in addition to its provision of USD 7 million thus far.

V. Cooperation in the judiciary and security areas

Both sides agreed to enhance their judicial cooperation in all fields through the exchange of delegations and specialized cooperation on mutual judicial assistance in criminal, civil and commercial affairs.

Both sides recognized terrorism and violent extremism as threats against all humanit y and global peace and stabilit y. Emphasizing the necessit y for f irm and integrated determination of the international community in fighting terrorism and preventing violent extremism, they recognized the UN resolution of “World Against Violence and Extremism” (WAVE) proposed by President Rouhani, as an appropriate framework to attain such goals. They also expressed their support for the UN Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism and readiness to discuss pragmatic cooperation and policies in this regard.

Through enhancement of contacts and bi latera l cooperation, both sides agreed to reinforce their fight against smuggling and trafficking of goods and illegal drugs, cyber-crimes, transnational and organized crimes. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation between their law-enforcement institutions in various areas including the training of law-enforcement personnel.

Both sides shared the view that the state visit of President Park has created a milieu of understanding between the two countries. The two Presidents emphasized the importance of full implementation of the aforementioned commitments, agreements and MOUs inked during the visit to expedite the trend of cooperation between the two governments.

President Park invited President Rouhani to visit Korea at a convenient time and President Rouhani accepted the invitation.

Tehran, May 2, 2016