PM NAJIB LEAVES FOR THREE-DAY VISIT TO SOUTH KOREA

SEPANG, April 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak left Monday for a three-day visit to South Korea aimed at enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries.

The government aircraft carrying Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, took off from the KL International Airport here at 2pm.

The visit, at the invitation of President Lee Myung-bak, is to reciprocate the one made by the South Korean leader to Malaysia in December 2010.

This is Najib's maiden trip to South Korea since he came to power in April 2009.

The Malaysian leader is scheduled to hold private talks with Lee and lead the Malaysian delegation during a bilateral meeting with South Korea. He will also meet his counterpart, Kim Hwang-sik.

Najib will attend a banquet dinner hosted by the president at the
Presidential Palace in Seoul.

The prime minister is expected to meet South Korea's captains of business and industry at a business seminar and witness the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the governments and private sectors of the two countries.

South Korea is Malaysia's sixth largest trading partner.

In 2010, bilateral trade between the two countries was valued at US$16.43 billion (RM52.90 billion), with Malaysia registering exports worth US$7.52 billion (RM24.12 billion) while imports from South Korea were valued at US$8.91 billion (RM28.69 billion).

Kuala Lumpur and Seoul marked 50 years of diplomatic ties last year.