ID :
70258
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 12:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/70258
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean president heads home after three-nation Europe tour
By Byun Duk-kun
STOCKHOLM, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak left for home
Monday after winding up his week-long trip to Europe that was aimed at winning
support for closer bilateral ties and a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with
the European Union.
Lee's departure came shortly after he declared the end of negotiations for the
envisioned Korea-EU FTA in a summit with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt, which South Korean officials accompanying the president said
effectively concluded the deal.
"We two leaders welcomed the final agreement on the Korea-EU FTA," Lee said in a
joint press conference with the prime minister of Sweden, which holds the
six-month rotating EU presidency until the end of this year.
The announcement came after Lee sought to win European support for the proposed
trade deal during his earlier visits to Poland and Italy.
Three EU nations were earlier said to oppose the US$100-billion pact between
South Korea and the European bloc, but all three countries withdrew their
reservations during Lee's trip here, according to the officials.
The sides will soon begin their legal reviews of a final draft of the proposed
deal, approved last week by the EU's trade committee, called the Article 133
Committee, and hold a ceremony in September to initial the agreement, they said.
Seoul expects the actual signing to take place near the end of the year or early
2010.
The South Korean president sought to promote international efforts to fight trade
protectionism and climate change while attending the expanded summit of the G-8
and the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in the central Italian city
of L'Aquila last week.
"According to a recent forecast by the WTO, global trade for 2009 will decrease
by a shocking 10 percent. This is a very important and urgent matter that
requires our special efforts and cooperation," Lee had said in a trade session of
the G-8 summit.
The South Korean president renewed his call at Monday's joint press conference,
saying free trade nurtures growth and stabilizes the world economy.
"And that is why the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda is important," he
said, referring to the protracted trade negotiations of the World Trade
Organization.
The South Korean president will arrive in Seoul Tuesday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
STOCKHOLM, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak left for home
Monday after winding up his week-long trip to Europe that was aimed at winning
support for closer bilateral ties and a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with
the European Union.
Lee's departure came shortly after he declared the end of negotiations for the
envisioned Korea-EU FTA in a summit with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt, which South Korean officials accompanying the president said
effectively concluded the deal.
"We two leaders welcomed the final agreement on the Korea-EU FTA," Lee said in a
joint press conference with the prime minister of Sweden, which holds the
six-month rotating EU presidency until the end of this year.
The announcement came after Lee sought to win European support for the proposed
trade deal during his earlier visits to Poland and Italy.
Three EU nations were earlier said to oppose the US$100-billion pact between
South Korea and the European bloc, but all three countries withdrew their
reservations during Lee's trip here, according to the officials.
The sides will soon begin their legal reviews of a final draft of the proposed
deal, approved last week by the EU's trade committee, called the Article 133
Committee, and hold a ceremony in September to initial the agreement, they said.
Seoul expects the actual signing to take place near the end of the year or early
2010.
The South Korean president sought to promote international efforts to fight trade
protectionism and climate change while attending the expanded summit of the G-8
and the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in the central Italian city
of L'Aquila last week.
"According to a recent forecast by the WTO, global trade for 2009 will decrease
by a shocking 10 percent. This is a very important and urgent matter that
requires our special efforts and cooperation," Lee had said in a trade session of
the G-8 summit.
The South Korean president renewed his call at Monday's joint press conference,
saying free trade nurtures growth and stabilizes the world economy.
"And that is why the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda is important," he
said, referring to the protracted trade negotiations of the World Trade
Organization.
The South Korean president will arrive in Seoul Tuesday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
