Prime Minister Han Seong-sook met back-to-back on the 8th with Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagné and former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to discuss ways to cooperate with each country.
Han met with former Prime Minister Ishiba that afternoon at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on ways to advance South Korea-Japan relations and strengthen cooperation.
Han highly assessed former Prime Minister Ishiba's contributions to restoring shuttle diplomacy between the South Korean and Japanese leaders and said she expects continued roles to advance bilateral relations.
Han also said discussions on low birthrates, population aging, and suicide prevention are proceeding smoothly through the "South Korea-Japan common social issues consultative body," which was launched during Ishiba's tenure. She added that she expects practical cooperation that people can feel to expand in future industry fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).
In response, former Prime Minister Ishiba said, "It is necessary to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields."
He added, "Facing up to past history is the foundation for advancing South Korea-Japan relations," and said efforts will continue to advance ties between the two countries.
Earlier that day, Han also met with Speaker Gagné to discuss ways to expand cooperation between South Korea and Canada. Han said the two countries have potential to cooperate in various fields, including defense industry, AI, energy, and technology, and asked for attention to resolving difficulties such as support for South Korean corporations operating in Canada and lifting measures under the steel tariff rate quota system.
Han also explained that the South Korean government is expanding imports of Canadian energy as part of its supply chain diversification and proposed building mid- to long-term cooperation in the energy sector.
In addition, Han said South Korea is pursuing an "AI basic society," emphasizing that cooperation among countries is important at the global level because massive data and capital are needed.
In response, Speaker Gagné said, "Bilateral relations are constructive and diversifying," adding, "I hope cooperation in areas such as trade and economic security will further develop." She said she highly appreciates the South Korean government's vision to improve people's lives through technology.
Speaker Gagné said, "Cooperation among middle powers that share common values is all the more important in times of great uncertainty," adding, "I hope exchanges at the government and parliamentary levels will become more active."