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| Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu attends the Korea Times Forum on the Korea-U.S. Alliance at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Lee Hae-rin
Envoys who participated in The Korea Times Forum on Wednesday said that the Korea-U.S. alliance is much more than a bilateral issue between the two countries and related to more than peace and stability in East Asia, noting that many other countries are also affected by the nature of Korea-U.S. ties.
"The strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance in every sphere is key for all of us, and is very important for the success of Israel-Korea relations as well," Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor said. "The strategic and economic stability of this region (East Asia) impacts our own strategic concerns in the Middle East in predictable and unpredictable ways, and hence we follow Northeast Asia closely and with interest."
The Israeli envoy's remarks indicate that the role of the Korea-U.S. alliance goes far beyond maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula alone, as the two countries exert an influence on Israel.
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| Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko, from left, speaks with International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission to Korea Steve Hamilton, Israeli Ambassador Akiva Tor and Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu agreed that a strong alliance between Korea and the U.S. in both economic and political aspects is in the interest of her country, explaining that Brazil and the U.N. Security Council have consistently spoken for the immediate cessation of North Korea's missile tests and in favor of denuclearization.
During the forum, envoys from more than 20 countries attended and they intently listened to what the panelists said about economic security, global supply chain disruptions and the Korea-U.S. alliance. Divided into two sessions, Session 1 was about economic security and Session 2 was about the Korea-U.S. alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. Panelists exchanged their views on the prospects of global supply chain disruptions and the impact of the Korea-U.S. alliance on the region. The forum was conducted in a hybrid format with some participants joining sessions online.
Some envoys spoke positively about the event, saying the two sessions were very informative and that they learned a lot.
"This was an excellent panel and an excellent initiative that increased my understanding of all elements of the present challenges," Abreu said.
"On the security alliance in the Indo-Pacific, I believe that the panel contributed a lot to my understanding of the situation, which is certainly very complex, and which I will be following with great interest."
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| From left, Korea Network of Women in Finance Chairperson Kim Sang-kyung, Swiss Ambassador Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli and Deputy Head of Mission at Australian Embassy Alexandra Siddall attend the VIP session of the Korea Times Forum. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Australian diplomat Alexandra Siddall also said that she learned a lot.
"It was a huge range of views with a great degree of agreement on the strategic challenges," said Siddall, the minister and deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Australia in Seoul. "If we're going to transform our economies … and increase regional security and stability, I think what was made clear from today was that we're going to need allies like Australia, the U.S. and Korea to work together in a way to assure that we have a transparent and rule-based system."
Ambassador of Switzerland to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli presented a similar view, saying that she found the discussion open and informative. "I learned a lot of different views and I appreciate it," she said. "I thought it was very interesting also that they didn't only center on economic security or political security but also connected the two themes and gave possible answers to it."
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