PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE

President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 exchange a handshake at Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre, (LITEXPO), the venue of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

President Yoon, who is visiting Vilnius, Lithuania, to attend the NATO Summit, on July 11 adopted the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) in talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The ITPP specifies 11 sectors of cooperation between Korea and NATO like dialogue and consultation, cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts, disarmament and nonproliferation, emerging technologies, cybersecurity and public diplomacy.

After becoming a NATO partner state in 2006, Korea in 2012 signed the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP), with the ITPP being an upgraded version of this.

The Office of the President said, "Unlike the previous IPCP, which simply mentioned the areas of cooperation, the ITPP specifies in detail cooperation goals, the background of selecting areas for cooperation, strategic targets, detailed project content and implementation schedule to achieve cooperation."

At a news briefing in Vilnius, presidential spokesperson Lee Do Woon said President Yoon and Secretary General Stoltenberg hailed the ITPP for laying the foundation to institutionalize bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders also discussed boosting cooperation in information sharing at a groundbreaking level.

President Yoon explained to the NATO head his ideas of hosting international cyber training in Korea and opening a related center there, saying, "I look forward to close cooperation with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence."

After this meeting, President Yoon held a series of bilateral summits with the leaders of seven NATO allied countries on enhancing cooperation in a range of areas like high-tech sectors, the defense industry, infrastructure and human exchange.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 pose for photos with each holding a signed copy of the ITPP document at Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre, (LITEXPO), the venue of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

korea.net