Check against delivery.

Thank you, dear Minister [for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Cho Tae-yul].Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for me to be here. For my country, Spain, times are difficult, and I thank you for your condolences.  

But I am here as a European to announce the Security and Defence Partnership between the European Union and [the Republic of] Korea.

And I remember very well that in May 2023, in the summit here in Seoul, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic ties. And this 60th anniversary was an important moment, and it marked the beginning of the work to announce today the Security and Defence Partnership.

And I am very happy and very pleased to be here with you, dear Minister, in this inaugural Strategic Dialogue, where we will be laying the foundation for closer and enhanced engagement on our key foreign policy issues.

I know that for you also the times are difficult.

I was visiting yesterday the demarcation line [Demilitarized Zone] between North Korea and South Korea, remembering your history and paying tribute to the soldiers which are buried on the cemetery that I visited also yesterday.

We are strategic partners. We share values and common goals. We share a partnership. And this is important in this current geopolitical context, challenging for both of us and based on our common will to build a better future for our people.

Geopolitical tensions are increasing, and climate change also is a threat. Technological disruption is a reality.  

The Indo-Pacific is at the heart of many of the global shifts, be it digital transformation, be it climate change, be it the rise of China. In our interconnected world, political, economic, and security developments are not confined to geographical boundaries because climate change doesn't know about boundaries, and geopolitical tensions come from the war in Ukraine onto the Indo-Pacific waters here in the Korean Peninsula.

The developments in this peninsula and in Ukraine, in Korea and in Ukraine, they are far away, but they are interlinked, as you know very well, including the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia, which illustrates the importance of our shared security agenda.

This is not a rhetorical, nor a theoretical approach. It is because the war is at the borders of Europe, and it is because, in this war, North Korean troops are going to participate. So, this increases the need for us to work together, guided by common interests and shared values, and with the will to strengthen our efforts to show that democracies deliver best for our citizens.

Not only do they deliver freedom - political freedom - they also deliver prosperity, well-being, and social cohesion. Democracies and cooperation among democracies are the best way to reach peace and prosperity for our people - for the Koreans, and the European people - and for the rest of the world.

Once again, thank you very much for your warm welcome. And once again, [I am] very happy to be [back] in Korea.

Thank you.

Watch the video [starting at 1:50]