Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will visit Washington, D.C., from the 22nd to the 25th (local time) to discuss investment in the United States.
First, the Minister will meet with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to discuss bilateral issues, including strategic investment in the United States. The Minister is also scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and others to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in resources and energy. In parallel, outreach activities will be conducted with the U.S. Congress to enhance mutual understanding of trade and investment issues.
On the 23rd, the Minister will attend the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., together with key U.S. figures and Korean and U.S. shipbuilding corporations. The center was established as a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative signed on May 8 by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Through the center, the two sides plan to support cooperation activities between Korean and U.S. shipbuilding corporations and identify outcomes.
The Minister said, "The government is in full swing on work to advance strategic investment projects in the United States under the Korea-U.S. Special Act on Strategic Investment, which took effect on Jun. 18," and added, "Through this visit to the United States, we will further clarify the direction for promoting the investment projects and do our utmost to ensure the stable maintenance of bilateral trade relations by faithfully implementing the contents of the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement."