The Philippines and the Republic of Korea on Friday reaffirmed their friendly and mutually beneficial ties and discussed ways to take their bilateral cooperation to new heights at the 8th Philippine-South Korea Policy Consultation in Seoul.

The Philippines' Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, Ma. Theresa Lazaro, headed the delegation, while South Korea was led by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyundong.

Defense and security, maritime engagement, trade, investment, energy, nuclear power, infrastructure, science and technology, information and communications technology cooperation, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges with a focus on tourism and consular cooperation were all topics of intense discussion.

They also discussed regional and international developments such as ASEAN-ROK cooperation, the West Philippine Sea, the Korean Peninsula, the Ukraine crisis, and international and multilateral cooperation.

The activities will highlight the most important aspects of relationships in a variety of areas.

Undersecretary Lazaro stated that in pursuing projects and activities in various fields of cooperation, "not only will we walk together, but we will run together" toward their common goals and objectives.

The meeting also brought the two countries one step closer to formalizing their bilateral relations into a strategic partnership. It provided a significant impetus to strengthen and expand cooperation across a wide range of engagement areas.

The Philippine-South Korean Policy Consultations are the primary forum for extensive dialogue between the two countries foreign vice ministers on a wide range of issues aimed at advancing effective cooperation toward the achievement of common goals and mutually beneficial interests.