Transportation minister says France is natural gateway to European market


The French transportation minister expressed hope that Korea will invest in his country’s ports, citing their strategic location for European markets and the reform of port authorities to improve their productivity.

Speaking at a news conference in Seoul on Saturday, Minister Thierry Mariani said France boasts a strategic and unparalleled location at the heart of Europe, and offers access to major European platforms located in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

“France is therefore a natural gateway to the European market,” he said. “Our ports are well-quipped and connect all forms of transportation like rail, river and road.”

Leading a delegation, the minister visited Korea to highlight his country’s ports, which stand at the crossroads between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. During their two-day visit, the delegation inspected the Incheon and Busan ports with the aim of attracting Korean investors to set up operations in France for either the European market or further.

“Our laws have been completely restructured with the goal of simplifying and unifying the organization (port authorities) to improve their productivity,” Mariani said.

“Since this reform came into affect about a year and a half, there hasn’t been problems with the overall climate,” he added.

There are seven major French ports and three maritime shorelines all serving 600 million consumers in less than 48 hours.

Over the last five years, over $1.3 billion was invested in the seven major seaports in order to modernize terminals and interfaces linking the ports to European transport networks.

For Korean firms, entering into Europe from the eastern side of the continent may be less costly at first. But Francois Soulet de Brugiere, president of the Union of French Ports, said in the news conference that their links into the heart of Europe are not as developed as those in France, making the venture a costlier endeavor than initially predicted by local firms sending their goods into the more than 500 million people in the European market.

Once the goods reach French ports, Brugiere stressed that a specific needs analysis is carried out for each client to effectively help with customs procedures.

In a financial point of view and to optimize custom clearance, it is now possible to defer the payment of the value added tax without any guarantee and to suspend the payment of duties and taxes, he added.

France is one of the most attractive countries in world foreign investment and ranks third as a host country for the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.


By Yoav Cerralbo
(yoav@heraldcorp.com)