(Post by CAAI News Media)
President Lee Myung-bak will visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand next week for bilateral and regional summits, Cheong Wa Dae announced yesterday.
He will attend the annual regional summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its Asia-Pacific dialogue partners to be held in Hua Hin, Thailand Oct. 24-25.
On his way to Thailand, he will visit Hanoi Tuesday and Phnom Penh Thursday.
Lee will seek to enhance bilateral economic ties and regional cooperation with emerging economies in Southeast Asia, Cheong Wa Dae said.
In a summit on Jeju Island in June, Lee and 10 ASEAN leaders adopted a comprehensive partnership agreement on security, trade and socio-cultural ties. They also finalized a free trade agreement by signing its investment segment.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the upcoming meeting, they will review the implementation of the agreement and seek to broaden their cooperation, the presidential office said.
Lee will also attend the ASEAN Plus Three Summit which includes China and Japan and an annual East Asia Summit that involves the ASEAN Plus Three and India, Australia and New Zealand.
Economic ties between Korea and ASEAN have grown rapidly since the launch of an official dialogue partnership 20 years ago.
The bloc is now Korea's third largest export market and second biggest investment destination.
During his three-days in Hanoi, Lee will hold meetings with Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and will attend a dinner hosted by Nong Duc Manh, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
"President Lee and President Triet will review the progress in their countries' bilateral relations since their diplomatic normalization in 1992 and consult on ways to strengthen cooperation in economic, trade, social and cultural sectors," Cheong Wa Dae said.
Lee will also seek Vietnam's cooperation for Korean companies' greater participation in infrastructure, energy, mineral resources, atomic energy and telecommunications industries, it said.
During a two-day stay in Phnom Penh he will hold a summit with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on cooperation in resources, forestation and agriculture and other economic ties.
The leaders are expected to sign an extradition treaty and a revision to an agreement on the provision of Seoul's development fund. Lee will also meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.
In June, Lee hosted a special summit to mark 20 years of official ties between Korea and ASEAN.
Korea has been striving to catch up with China and Japan, which have already made huge investments and provided assistance in those dynamic economies with high growth potential and rich natural resources.
During the Jeju summit, Lee declared his hopes to broaden Korea-ASEAN ties as part of his New Asia Initiative aimed at expanding the nation's role in the continent.
Korea aims to increase bilateral trade with the regional bloc from $90.2 billion in 2008 to $150 billion by 2015.
It also promised to double the annual volume of Korea's official development assistance for ASEAN to $400 million by that year.
At the close of the summit, trade ministers signed an investment agreement, which marks the completion of nearly five years of FTA negotiations between the two sides.
The agreement is expected to boost investment through enhanced protection, fair treatment, transparency and dispute settlement rules, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
(jjhwang@heraldm.com)
By Hwang Jang-jin
No comments:
Post a Comment