Seoul: Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and the top military officer at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) discussed Tuesday ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense and arms manufacturing sectors. The meeting between Ahn and Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO military committee, took place on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, which began the previous day for a three-day run, the ministry said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during the talks, Ahn expressed appreciation for NATO's interest in and commitment to security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region. The defense minister also highlighted the importance of cooperation with NATO, citing heightened global security tensions and growing security interconnectivity between Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Cavo Dragone concurred with Ahn's remarks and voiced hopes to expand South Korea-NATO cooperation in areas including defense, military exchanges, intelligence sharing, cyber, space, and artificial intelligence.
The two officials also agreed to continue high-level exchanges between their organizations to advance cooperation in a reciprocal and future-oriented manner. Ahn also held back-to-back talks with his counterparts from Croatia and South Africa, which both marked the first meetings between the defense chief of South Korea and the two countries.
Ahn and his Croatian counterpart, Ivan Anusic, agreed to strengthen their mutual defense cooperation and hold in-depth discussions on advanced technologies such as drones and unmanned aircraft. In talks with South Africa's defense and veterans chief Angie Motshekga, Ahn thanked the South African official for sending troops during the 1950-53 Korean War to help defend the country. Motshekga, who attended a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the U.N. Command the previous day, is set to visit Hanwha Ocean Co. on Wednesday to observe its shipbuilding and maintenance skills, the ministry said.
The South Korean defense minister also held talks with the visiting Mongolian defense chief, Batlut Damba, and discussed ways to expand their exchange and cooperation, such as the Mongolia-led Khan Quest peacekeeping exercise.