S.Korea, Britain sign letter of intent to establish strategic development partnership

Seoul, May 12 (IANS) South Korea and Britain on Friday signed a letter of intent (LOI) to establish a bilateral strategic development partnership, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

The LOI was signed by Seoul’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon, First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Britain’s minister of state for the Indo-Pacific, at the ministry in Seoul.

The letter calls for the establishment of a bilateral strategic development partnership in the Indo-Pacific based on shared values of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights, Yonhap news agency reported.

The two sides also agreed to explore joint cooperation measures with a focus on the areas of digital, climate, environment, public health, private sector collaboration and women, according to the ministry.