Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Argentinian resources, Korean technology are good match: Argentinian deputy minisister
Argentina's Vice Foreign Minister Pablo Tettamanti, left, shakes hands with his Korean counterpart Cho Hyun-dong during a high-level policy consultative meeting between the two countries at the ministry's headquarters in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Argentina's deputy foreign minister emphasized that action to strengthen bilateral ties must come with the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Argentina and Korea.
Argentina's Deputy Foreign Minister Pablo Tettamanti visited Korea to take part in the eighth round of high-level policy consultations with Korea as well as a handful of meetings to discuss various fields for cooperation as the two countries aim to bolster ties in the post-COVID-19 era.
"We cannot simply believe that we will have better relations with Korea, because we decide to do that. You can decide to do that and then you can write a text and have an MOU or a treaty. But then you have to do it," Tettamanti said during an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.
"We are not building on something that historically was there. We are trying to create a new history, a new reality... So we have to put the strength and the commitment and to do that."
The deputy minister said such an anniversary provides a chance to review relations between the two countries in a future-oriented perspective.
"In a way, it is twofold. We are recalling what we have done before and we are thinking what we can do to revive and revitalize relations," Tettamanti said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic which impeded progress.
"It is both a celebration and also a new start in many ways. It is not so much to think about the past, but to think about the future."
Tettamanti, who arrived Seoul in Wednesday and departed Friday, had a busy schedule packed with meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Justice and the Global Green Growth Institute.
Argentina is one of the world's top beef exporters known for its quality, but Korea and Argentina have been discussing sanitary protocols for years before importing Argentinian beef to Korea. Tettamanti said it was one of the points up for discussion on the agenda earlier that day.
"It has been in the trade agenda for years now. We think that we should be able to find a way in which our products can come to the Korean market," he said.
"Argentina's beef is so well known worldwide. But there are sanitary and phytosanitary discussions that are taking place. We think that is something that has been dragged out for long a time and the scientific side of it is already clear. So maybe at one point, we will be able to make decisions, but we know that it is not an easy subject."
Argentina's Vice Foreign Minister Pablo Tettamanti speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Embassy of Argentina in Korea
He also expects to accelerate cooperation in the field of science and technology as he updated an MOU to include Fourth Industrial Revolution-related technologies, such as 5G networks and artificial intelligence.
"Korea has a presence in Argentina, which is not new, but mostly from the traditional industries and there is a field there to cooperate further," Tettamanti said.
"Because of the general worldwide situation, we're rethinking issues such as food security and sources of energy. Argentina has possibilities of exploring different sources of energy. These are not the things that appeared just now... but COVID made it clear that this is something that humanity has to face.”
The deputy minister said Argentina's rich resources could be a good match for Korea's advanced technology.
"We have natural resources and knowledgeable competence. So I think there's a large variety of possibilities of finding ways to cooperate with green energy," he said.
During the meeting with the vice justice minister, Tettamanti discussed increasing the number of days for visa-free entry of Argentinians visiting Korea.
"We don't require visas (for each other), but Koreans traveling to Argentina for tourism or business can stay up to 90 days in a row, whilst people coming from Argentina to Korea for the same purposes can stay only 30 days. This is something we have been discussing for a while already and from the conversations we had today, we believe that we can look ahead to some positive arrangements," he said.
In fact, Korean culture is gaining a strong momentum in Argentina and the move could boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
"When we look to the future, we think that whatever we can do to make those contacts easier builds up for a variety of other possibilities."