South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Swiss President Alain Berset agreed Thursday to further enhance the countries' bilateral cooperation in the bio and medical science sector, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
In a bilateral summit held at Cheong Wa Dae, the two leaders noted that the countries' relationship has steadily improved over the years.
"The leaders of the two countries welcomed the launch of the South Korea-Switzerland biological science initiative committee on the occasion of President Berset's visit to South Korea, and agreed to further expand their cooperation in the health and medical sectors based on their mutual cooperation using Switzerland's advanced basic science and South Korea's latest industrial technologies," the presidential office said in a press release.
Berset is in South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. The Moon-Berset meeting came one day before the leaders were scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in the South Korean town, located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. The Olympics will end Feb. 25.
Moon expressed gratitude for Switzerland's support for the Winter Olympic Games, noting the expanded joint women's hockey team of South and North Korea will face the Swiss team in the first round of the event.
The divided Koreas agreed last month to form a single women's hockey team, a last-minute change that apparently required the consent of Switzerland and other countries that were originally set to face a South Korean-only team.
The South Korean president also expressed gratitude for Switzerland's contribution to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula, asking for its continued support for dialogue and reconciliation between the two Koreas, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Switzerland has been and still is a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission that oversees the Korean armistice, which ended the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)