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from: JUSTIN SPIKE, Associated Press
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 / 9:32 am CDT
Updated: 11/04/2021 / 9:32 AM CDT
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (left) shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a statement following a meeting of the informal cooperation body of Central Europe called the Visegrad Group or V4 in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday, November 4, 2021. (AP Photo / Laszlo Balogh)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – The leaders of four Central European nations met in the Hungarian capital on Thursday to urge South Korean President Moon Jae-in to invest in an express train line between Budapest and the Polish capital, Warsaw.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who hosted the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad group of four Central European nations, said at a joint press conference that the potential rail investment is “the largest joint venture of the V4 countries” – a pact that includes Hungary, Slovakia , Czech Republic and Poland.
“South Korea has developed technology in this area, and a south-north travel corridor in Europe cannot be reached if the capitals (V4) are not connected by an express train,” Orban said, adding that the rail investment is aimed at that Shorten travel time on the 800-kilometer line from 12 noon to 5 a.m.
“We very much hope that South Korean industry will be interested in this development,” said Orban.
The V4 Leaders Summit came as Moon neared the end of a nine-day tour of Europe that he previously attended the Group of 20 Summit in Rome and the COP26 UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
At the media briefing in Budapest, each of the heads of state and government emphasized the growing bilateral trade relations between South Korea and the V4, which, according to Orban, has increased by 40% in the past five years and reached a record of 20 billion US dollars last year.
Moon called the V4 a “emerging manufacturing hub in Europe” and stated that the group is the second largest trading partner and largest investment destination for South Korea in the European Union.
The manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles is the “main driver of our growing bilateral cooperation,” said Moon, adding that South Korea will play a “leading role” in developing transport, energy and infrastructure in the V4 countries.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who was also present at the summit, said that South Korea should “regard the V4 as the most important partner in the EU”.
More than 30% of all South Korean exports to the EU go to the V4 countries, noted Morawiecki, adding that “we are open economies and we expect our partners to be open too”.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called on South Korea to apply for a project to renew a nuclear power plant in Dukovany, Czech Republic.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said the V4 aims to develop further cooperation with South Korea in the fight against COVID-19, including sharing test equipment, vaccines, ventilators and other medical equipment.
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https://www.kxan.com/news/international/central-european-nations-seek-south-korea-train-partnership/
