Washington, May 9 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department said, as Seoul has committed to help revitalise the U.S. shipbuilding sector as part of a bilateral trade agreement.

Park Jung-sung, deputy minister for trade at Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR), and U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade William Kimmitt inked the MOU in Washington, overseen by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the International Trade Administration.

The MOU signing came as South Korea has pledged to invest US$150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding sector as part of last year’s trade deal that committed the Asian country to investing a total of $350 billion in the U.S. with an annual cap of $20 billion, reports Yonhap news agency.

“The MOU signing builds on ongoing U.S.-Korea cooperation in strategic industries and reflects continued efforts to strengthen allied industrial capacity, promote investment, and expand collaboration in advanced manufacturing sectors,” the administration said in a release.

Under the MOU, the two sides will establish the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI) — a new platform to strengthen bilateral cooperation in commercial shipbuilding, workforce development, industrial modernisation, and maritime manufacturing investment, it said.

The partnership will leverage the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center, which is expected to be established in Washington later this year, and will support expanded collaboration between government, industry, and research institutions from both countries.

Specific activities under the partnership will include facilitating foreign direct investment into the U.S. maritime industrial base, workforce training initiatives, shipyard productivity improvement projects and technical exchanges, among others.

In line with the MOU, the Commerce Department will facilitate the centre’s interactions with U.S. shipbuilding companies, suppliers, universities and research institutes, and act as the U.S. government-wide point of contact for the centre, according to the administration.

MOTIR will coordinate cooperation across the Korean government and other shipbuilding stakeholders and provide the personnel and funding necessary for the center.

Meanwhile, Kim and Lutnick held talks on Friday to discuss South Korea’s projects to invest in the U.S. as part of the trade deal, an informed source said.

Upon arrival in Washington on Wednesday, Kim said that South Korea’s first investment projects under the trade deal can be announced after a relevant law goes into effect in June.

—IANS

na/