The Clingendael Institute was honoured to host a roundtable discussion on stronger ties for economic security, supply chains and the Indo-Pacific strategy with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Jin Park, on Friday, February 17 at Huys Clingendael in the Hague. 

After opening remarks by Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jin Park spoke inspiring words about the strong historical, economic and security ties between the Netherlands and South Korea. In his keynote remarks, he discussed the poly-crisis that both countries are currently facing and the collective action it requires to deal with increased geopolitical and technological tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Minister Park highlighted the similarities between the Netherlands and South Korea, as both are open, trading nations with advanced economies and their intertwined supply chains, especially in the semiconductor domain.  

A panel consisting of Bart van Hezewijk, Head of Asia, Government & External Affairs at ASML, Peter Potman, deputy director-general of Foreign Economic Relations of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Programme Lead for Geopolitics of Technology & Digitalisation at Clingendael, highlighted the importance of moving to practical action. They emphasised the role of governments as facilitators of increased business-to-business cooperation. The panel stressed the need for a forward-looking shared vision on supply chain resilience, AI for public good, and open strategic autonomy towards each other as well as trusted third parties. Practical steps toward enhanced cooperation between the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea are now being taken, including a trade mission to the Republic of Korea in March 2023.