S. Korean PM suggests world should cooperate over green growth

PARIS, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's prime minister suggested Wednesday that the world should pursue "green growth" to better deal with environmental challenges facing mankind and attain sustainable economic growth in his speech at an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting. Kim Hwang-sik made the suggestion in his keynote address at a green growth session of the two-day OECD Ministerial Council Meeting that opened at the organization's headquarters in Paris that day. He arrived here Tuesday for a four-day trip to attend the OECD meeting, which also drew about 100 ministerial officials from all over the world, including U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The OECD marks its 50th anniversary this year. Green growth "highlights an inspiring paradigm shift in human history," Kim said in the speech delivered in English. "Like innovation, green growth is a new source of growth. It takes into account environmental protection and the resilience of Mother Earth at the same time." "To be successful, green growth needs to be global and cross over borders," he said. "Hopefully, all countries are mandated to join this truly important initiative." Kim then introduced South Korea's green growth policy experiences and offered his appreciation for the OECD's adoption of a green growth strategy report at Seoul's proposal. Before the session, Kim had separate bilateral talks with the prime ministers of Hungary, Slovakia and Norway to discuss ways to improve bilateral relations and cooperation in energy and defense.