S. Korea, Sweden discuss deeper industry ties during inaugural committee meeting

South Korean and Swedish vice industry ministers on Wednesday discussed ways to boost cooperation on zero-emission goals and such key industry sectors as bio and digital, Seoul’s industry ministry said.

Seoul’s First Vice Industry Minister Park Jin-kyu met with Stina Billinger, Sweden’s state secretary to minister for business, in Seoul earlier in the day during the inaugural meeting of the Korea-Sweden industry cooperation committee.

The committee was established in 2019 in accordance with their memorandum of understanding on industry cooperation, which was signed during President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Sweden in June of that year.

During the meeting, the sides shared their major policy measures on how to achieve their carbon neutrality goal and producing green hydrogen, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

They also discussed ways of boosting cooperation in wide industry fields, such as bio, semiconductors, batteries and the transition to digital, it added.

Park said bilateral trade and investment has expanded despite the COVID-19 pandemic and called for deeper cooperation in various fields.

Trade between the two nations grew 26 percent on-year to US$3.57 billion in 2021.

Major joint projects include the bio cooperation through the Sweden-based drugmaker AstraZeneca and the development of next-generation power semiconductors, according to the ministry.