His Excellency Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat), praised the standing relations, cooperation and friendly ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Korea, which are constantly developing in various areas, especially in industry, commerce and investment. He emphasized the Kingdom’s continuous approach to increase and advance bilateral cooperation to bring prosperity to both countries and peoples.

He gave the statement on the sidelines of a Derasat ‘Think Talk’ series lecture given by His Excellency Mr. Chung Hae Kwan, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom of Bahrain, titled ‘Optimal use of WTO dispute settlement system: The Korean experience as a model’, on Wednesday 22 March 2023, to an audience of Derasat officials and partners, with representatives of interested parties.

Shaikh Abdulla valued over four decades of firm friendly ties that brought both countries closer, having prospered with support and care from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain greatly values developing its relations with the Republic of Korea, evident in the exchanged visits for various mutual interests, besides cherishing popular diplomacy by founding the Bahraini-South Korean Friendship Society in 2022. The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities also celebrated the 45th anniversary of Bahraini-South Korean diplomatic relations, a period that saw constant high growth in several aspects, especially in the volume of trade exchange which reached US$ 1 billion in 2022,” he said.

During the lecture, Ambassador Chung described the book’s main objective as explaining methods of settling trade disputes within the framework of the World Trade Organization in a simple comprehensive manner, while stressing the importance of the WTO’s role in settling disputes to achieve tangible results, besides providing fair and legitimate opportunities for the parties to the conflict. He also elaborated on how to ensure voluntary participation by countries and accepting verdicts.

Ambassador Chung also pointed out that attempts of the international community to establish a World Trade Organization date back to the period following the Second World War, when the international community succeeded in establishing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, describing the arbitration mechanism in the current WTO as being carried out through the Dispute Settlement Body consisting of representatives from member states.

Notably, the lecture was inspired by Ambassador Chung’s latest publication titled ‘The World Trade Organization: The Story of Dispute Settlement’, in which he provided comprehensive and scientific knowledge of the most prominent WTO laws and practices in dispute settlement, based on his own nearly decade-long experience with the organization, while highlighting the key role and optimal use of the dispute settlement system in international trade, and the Korean experience in harnessing this system as an important trade policy.

The lecture is part of the ‘Think Talks’ series regularly organized by Derasat Center, in which it hosts local, Arab and global intellectuals to present and discuss various issues.