MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine President meets South Korea's Prime Minister at Casa Rosada

Han will seek Argentina's support for South Korea's bid to host World Expo 2030

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was welcomed Friday at Casa Rosada by Argentine President Alberto Fernández after arriving Thursday in Buenos Aires.

The Asian official is attending ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

Also taking part in the meeting were Ministers Santiago Cafiero (Foreign Affairs), Daniel Filmus (Science), and Argentina's Ambassador to Seoul Alfredo Bascou.

Joining the Prime Minister's entourage were Deputy Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong; Chief of Staff Park Sung-keun South Korea's Ambassador to Buenos Aires Jang Myung-soo.

According to Buenos Aires' newspaper Ámbito, bilateral trade “has grown exponentially, from US$ 400 million in 2002 to US$ 2,368 million in 2021, a year in which Argentine exports grew by 148%.”

“In this context, the opportunities offered by Argentina to contribute to Korea's food security stand out, as well as the important Korean investments in our country in lithium, electronics, logistics, and the automotive sector, among others,” An Argentine government statement read.

South Korea's steel company Posco, owner of the 25,000-hectare Sal de Oro lithium project in the provinces of Salta and Catamarca, announced plans for around 1,900 direct and indirect job openings.

By 2026, the company expects to reach a production capacity of 100,000 tons of lithium products per year, increasing the total investment by around US$ 4 billion.

Argentina has the world's third-largest lithium reserves and is the fourth-largest lithium producer globally. South Korea imported nearly 40 percent of corn and about 33 percent of soybean oil from Argentina last year, Yonhap reported.

Prime Minister Han will seek Argentina's support for South Korea's bid to host World Expo 2030 in the southeastern port city of Busan. Han has already visited Chile and Uruguay during his current South American tour.