President Lee to visit the United States and Japan in April
I am going to brief you about the planned visit to the United States and Japan by President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok.
The President and the First Lady are scheduled to visit the United States for five days from April 15 to 19. On their way back home, the Presidential couple will stop in Japan for two days from April 20 to 21.
While in the United States, President Lee and President George W. Bush will hold a summit at Camp David for two days from April 18. President Lee is the first Korean head of state to be invited to Camp David. President Lee's visit to Camp David seems to reflect the fact that the United States welcomes the Korean President's visit and that President Bush, personally, has confidence in the new Korean President. With the Korea-U.S. summit at Camp David, the Korea-U.S. alliance is anticipated to be elevated a step higher.
President Lee's visit to the United States this time will be a working visit, and it is another manifestation of his determination to institute pragmatic diplomacy without being restrained by formalities. In the same context, the number of persons in the presidential delegation and accompanying business leaders will be reduced as much as possible unlike in the previous summits. During the visit, President Lee will emphasize the common values underlying the alliance such as free democracy and market economics. In addition, he is planning to seek out ways to promote peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia and to develop a strategic, future-oriented Korea-U.S. alliance.
President Lee will engage in discussions on how to maintain close cooperation between Korea and the United States on the pending issue of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. The two leaders will also have wide-ranging and in-depth talks on various bilateral issues, including the Korea-U.S. FTA and U.S. Visa Waiver Program. In addition, the Korean President is planning to proactively engage in sales diplomacy. To this end, the President will have talks with leading figures of the Bush Administration and the Congress, and will visit the New York Stock Exchange. On top of this, he will participate in the Korea Investor Relations Session in a bid to help attract investment and present visions for economic cooperation between the two countries.
President Lee will fly into Tokyo, Japan in the afternoon of April 20. On the following day, he will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and attend a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister before returning to Korea. At the Korea-Japan summit, the two leaders are expected to discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations in a friendly atmosphere and to revive shuttle diplomacy that has been suspended in recent years. They will also delve into measures to expand exchanges of young people and bolster cooperation in the economy as well as on energy, environmental and other global issues.
At the breakfast to be hosted by major Japanese business organizations on April 21, President Lee plans to explain the general direction of the Korean Government's economic policies as well as his ideas for bolstering substantive economic cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo. On the agenda will be technology transfer between the parts and material industries of the two countries.
President Lee's tour to Washington and Tokyo next month represents his Administration's first step to broaden the Republic's diplomacy in East Asia and the world as a contributing member of the international community. Korea's journey to expand its diplomatic horizon with friendly nations has begun. In the light of the importance of engaging with the four major powers, the President also looks forward to making visits to China and Russia as soon as possible.
The significance of President's planned visit this time symbolizes his determination to bring about tangible economic benefits and conspicuously enhance trust as well as to carry out his responsibilities with all his heart.
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
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2008년 7월 9일 16:12