In February 2018, South Korea will host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. Under the slogan "Passion, Connected", almost 3,650 athletes from all over the world will offer us the best of themselves. And 22,400 volunteers, chosen from more than 90,000 candidates, will contribute to the good development of the Games and offer their full support to the participants.
These PyeongChang Games will be for everyone a symbol of peace and harmony. Although the Korean Peninsula has been divided for more than 60 years, both sides have always cooperated with sportsmanship in the celebration of sporting events. As it shows, this year, North Korea has participated in ice hockey and taekwondo competitions held in South Korea. And the representative of North Korea at the IOC has recently stressed that "politics is one thing, and the Olympic Games, a different one".
Bringing the organization of such an important event to Korea has not been an easy task. It has taken thirteen years, two unsuccessful attempts for the candidacy and a choir of two thousand and eighteen citizens acting for the IOC Evaluation Commission to finally make it possible. It has been a combined effort of an entire nation, and now we are ready to make it a successful event for the enjoyment of the whole world, while opening new horizons for Korea.
The PyeongChang Winter Games will be the most important to date, as more than 100 gold medals will be at stake for the first time. PyeongChang 2018 will also be the scene of the largest number of female and mixed events in the history of the Winter Olympics. We are really enthusiastic, and we warmly welcome visitors from all over the world who come to the beautiful city of PyeongChang.
This is not the first time that an Olympiad has been held in Korea. 30 years ago, the Seoul Summer Games of 88 brought together both sides of the Cold War in the spirit of sportsmanship and peace. The Games also unveiled Korea's rapid economic growth, which turned a war-torn country into a modern and stable nation.
Although South Korea at the time did not have diplomatic relations with many of the countries of the socialist bloc, the Soviet Union and East Germany were among the 159 participating countries.
The 1988 Olympic Games were a decisive event for Korea, which helped change its image as a nation dependent on foreign aid, to that of a country with "some of the best sports facilities ever built for an Olympic Games", as stated by the President of the IOC. It was a moment of great pride for the nation, which provided a country immersed in a rapid transformation.
Currently, Korea ranks 11th in the world in terms of GDP, 7th in foreign exchange reserves, 6th in export volumes and 8th in total trade. We are the largest mobile phone manufacturer on the planet, the best airport services provider according to the International Airports Council, and for the fourth consecutive year we headed the Bloomberg innovation index. Korea also obtained the highest value in the ICT Development Index of the International Telecommunication Union, a composite indicator of the level of access, use and ICT capabilities of 167 countries.
Bilateral exchanges between Spain and Korea have also increased significantly, reaching $ 4 billion last year. Some years ago Spanish drivers were surprised by the idea of Korean cars in the Spanish market, but today Hyundai and Kia cars dot the streets throughout the country. And as a sign of the growing reputation of Spanish quality products among Korean consumers, increasingly large Korean stores are eager to place Spanish food products on their shelves.
I hope that the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang will be another great opportunity for Korea and Spain to deepen their friendship. We look forward to welcoming the talented Spanish athletes. Although it is not especially recognized as a country of winter sports, the Spanish participants have always competed actively in the Winter Games and have been able to exceed expectations. We hope the team from Spain will do a great performance in PyeongChang, and I wish them all the best.
Korea has always had a great willingness to play its role on the international stage and has hosted many important international events such as the 2002 FIFA World Cup (co-organized with Japan) and the 2011 World Athletics Championships. there is no doubt that the next event we will host, the Invie Olympic and Paralympic Games
