During the course of his three-day official visit to South Korea, Minister of National Economy Mihály Varga will be holding negotiations with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick, Minister of Strategy and Finance Hyun Oh-seok and with Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-Soo.

Mr. Varga will also meet with the directors of large Korean companies operating in Hungary, Samsung and Hankook Tire, and with investor advocacy organisations.

In harmony with its policy of Opening to the East, the Hungarian Government views South Korea as a strategic partner. It is the goal of the Hungarian Government to encourage further Korean investment in Hungary. Korean investors and the value-creating development projects they realise play an important role in Hungary's economy.

The free trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea, which came into force in 2011, has also created huge opportunities for the countries' exporters, in view of the fact that practically all products can reach their target market duty free. The strengthening of the bilateral economic relations maintained with the Republic of South Korea may also contribute to one of the Government's goals, according to which it would like to increase the ratio of Hungary's exports to non-EU countries from the current level of 11-12 percent to 33 percent by 2018.

(Ministry for National Economy)