Korea, Visegrad nations will boost infrastructure tie-ups

President Park Geun-hye, center, speaks at a press conference Thursday after meeting leaders of four Central European countries of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday. From left are Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Park and Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Korean companies plan to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects in four Central European countries ― Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic ― also known as the Visegrad Group.

The investment plan was high on the agenda during President Park Geun-hye’s meetings with the leaders of the four countries in Prague Thursday.

They are Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

The Visegrad Group is an emerging market in which economic growth is higher than the average growth of the European Union (EU). The two sides launched the format of Korea and the Visegrad Four cooperation in July last year after holding a foreign ministry meeting.

President Park asked the leaders for support for Korean firms seeking to participate in the projects. The firms included Hyundai Heavy Industries, Doosan Infracore, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP).

The Visegrad Group states plan to launch major infrastructure projects, including the construction of subways and communications networks, taking advantage of the 300 billion European Fund for Strategic Investments ― a tool to overcome the investment gap in the EU and support strategic investments in infrastructure.

During the meeting, Park also participated in detailed discussions with them on how to enhance cooperation in science and technology and to set up joint research and development programs.

While the two sides agreed to strengthen military cooperation, the President sought ways to export Korean weapons to them.

Park offered the Surion utility helicopter to Czech President Milos Zeman during their summit Wednesday and according to the defense industry, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the manufacturerof the helicopter, is also working on ways to export the multi-purpose chopper to Hungary.

The Visegrad countries are pro-nuclear power in Europe and are seeking to expand the industry.

The Czech Republic plans to build two reactors, with the project estimated to cost $15 billion (17.4 trillion won), and Poland and Slovakia are also considering building new nuclear reactors in order to meet EU emissions reduction targets.

Korea, which relies on 24 nuclear reactors for one-third of its energy needs ― has gained recognition as a new export heavyweight for nuclear power plants in recent years. In 2009, a Korean consortium won a $20.4-billion project to supply four light water nuclear reactors to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 2020.

Calling for support for her unification initiatives, Park valued the Visegrad countries’ successful transformation from communist to market economies that she believes is expected to send a clear message to North Korea to encourage Pyongyang should move along a similar path.