Two senior Irish government ministers were in South Korea to discuss enhancing two-way ties on finance and trade with their counterparts here and also to talk about public sector reform and participate in a conference on the topic hosted by Seoul.

Brendan Howlin, minster for public expenditure and reform, arrived in Seoul Tuesday for bilateral meetings and to participate in the U.N. Public Service Forum on Wednesday. He delivered a keynote speech on public sector reform in his country.

Howlin met with First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho on Tuesday. The next day, he delivered a lecture on economic policy titled “The Financial Crisis 5 years on ― the Irish and EU experiences” during the forum at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul. “There is enormous potential for us to share our experiences and innovations. While there are obviously different circumstances facing different countries and regions, there is much more that we have in common,” he said.

Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton was here for three days from Wednesday in a visit organized jointly by the Irish Embassy, Enterprise Ireland and Industrial Development Agency Ireland. The focus of Bruton’s visit was to promote trade and investment between Ireland and South Korea, the embassy said.

While in Korea he participated in a series of high-level business meetings with Irish companies with offices here and with South Korean companies doing business in Ireland.

“We are very excited to have two such senior ministers visiting Korea. The visits will be an opportunity to advance economic and political links between our two countries, to promote Ireland as a partner for trade and investment and to highlight to key Korean audiences Ireland’s journey to economic recovery,” said Irish Ambassador to South Korea Aingeal O’Donoghue.

(ephilip2014@heraldcorp.com)