Seoul, Buenos Aires to expand bilateral ties

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (L) talks with Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti in Seoul on May 10, 2016. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and visiting Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti agreed Tuesday to expand bilateral ties in many areas of interest.

“I hope that South Korea-Argentina relations would develop in many ways through this visit,” Hwang said during a luncheon meeting with Michetti in Seoul.

Michetti arrived in Seoul on Sunday at Hwang’s invitation for a three-day visit during which she paid a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye and received an honorary doctoral degree at the Catholic University of Korea.

The two sides also agreed on more cooperation in trade and investment between private companies as Argentina is rich in natural resources such as copper and lithium.

In response, Michetti expressed a wish to see more South Korean companies make inroads into the South American company to explore lithium ore, and promised active support in such projects.

Earlier this year, POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, announce that it had started to build a plant in Argentina that will produce lithium for use in rechargeable batteries.

The vice president took office in December upon the election of reformist President Mauricio Macri.