South Korea's Lee Concludes Philippines Visit with 10 MOUs

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung concluded a two-day state visit to the Philippines on March 4, marking the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations and resulting in agreements to deepen cooperation in economic, defense, and technology sectors.

The visit, Lee's first to the country since taking office, began on March 3 with a bilateral meeting between Lee and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace in Manila. The leaders signed 10 memorandums of understanding covering areas such as critical minerals supply chains, civil nuclear technology, defense, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, agriculture, cultural exchanges, veterans affairs, and police cooperation. Officials described the pacts as building on the recently implemented Philippines-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement to boost trade and investment.

A key focus was collaboration on critical minerals, with Lee highlighting the Philippines' reserves of cobalt and nickel, ranked fifth globally, as vital for South Korea's semiconductor and battery industries. "We agreed to expand collaboration on critical mineral supply chains through the MOU on critical minerals...