Lee to address free trade, climate change at G8 forum

By Byun Duk-kun
ROME, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will call for
concerted efforts to boost international trade Thursday as he joins the leaders
of the world's major economies in an international forum that will also focus on
climate change and food security, South Korean officials here said.
The Major Economies Forum (MEF) will be held in the central Italian city of
L'Aquila later Thursday on the sidelines of the annual G8 summit.
The South Korean president arrived here late Wednesday following his two-day trip
to Warsaw. Lee was expected to give opening remarks along with other leaders
during the first session of the MEF, which will focus on trade issues, according
to South Korean officials accompanying the president.
"President Lee will likely renew his call for international efforts to fight
protectionism, as he has repeatedly told leaders that coordinated fiscal spending
and increased trade are the only ways to get the world out of the global economic
crisis," an official said.
The South Korean president was expected push a green growth agenda while
attending the second session of the MEF on energy and climate change, also to be
held later Thursday.
"At the MEF on climate change, President Lee will explain the South Korean
government's efforts to combat climate change and express its willingness to work
with others to help strengthen international efforts on the issue," Seoul's
presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier.
Lee will hold a series of bilateral summits on the sidelines of the L'Aquila
meeting to seek greater support for his country's ongoing efforts to denuclearize
North Korea and enhance security in Northeast Asia.
North Korea launched seven short- and medium-range missiles last week, provoking
Seoul and defying a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned the North's
May 25 nuclear test.
The South Korean president will also pay a visit to Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday
to seek the Vatican's support for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,
according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.
He will attend a working session of the G8 extended summit on food security
Friday before his bilateral summits with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
President Lee will leave Saturday for Sweden, the last leg of three-nation trip.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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