Lee talks trade in Germany, France and Denmark

Politics

Published: 08 May. 2011, 23:36

Lee talks trade in Germany, France and Denmark

President Lee Myung-bak, right, and first lady, Kim Yoon-ok, leave for Germany yesterday to begin an eight-day trip of three European nations. The trip comes after Korea’s legislature approved a free trade agreement with the EU. [YONHAP]

President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok left on a week-long trip to Germany, Denmark and France yesterday with a focus on boosting investment and trade with the European economies ahead of the implementation of a free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union.

The eight-day trip comes days after Korea’s parliament ratified the trade pact last week, enabling it to take effect in July as scheduled. The accord calls for eliminating 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers over the next five years. The European Parliament approved the agreement in February.

After arriving in Berlin yesterday, Lee is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff today. Expanding trade and investment between the two countries will be a major topic for the meetings, along with cooperation in the area of “green growth” and other global matters, officials said.

“Germany is the largest stakeholder in the Korea-EU FTA because it is Europe’s biggest economy,” a senior presidential official said on the customary condition of anonymity.

Another key event in Lee’s trip to Berlin is a meeting with experts on the 1990 unification of East and West Germany. Lee is expected to seek their views on how best to prepare for unification with North Korea.

The four-day visit to Germany, which includes a stop in the financial center of Frankfurt, will also include meetings with the speaker of the lower house of Germany’s parliament and the mayor of Berlin and a round-table meeting in Frankfurt with the CEOs of major German firms.

Lee’s visit to Denmark, set for Wednesday and Thursday, is focused on green growth, one of Lee’s trademark policies that calls for seeking economic growth by promoting environment-friendly technologies and industries.

Lee and Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen are scheduled to adopt a joint declaration on green growth at their summit set for Thursday. Lee also plans to attend the opening ceremony of the Danish branch of the Global Green Growth Institute, an international think tank that Seoul set up last year to study green growth strategies and policies.

On Thursday, Lee will head to Paris for a summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders are expected to focus discussions on ways to expand trade and investment and increase cooperation in the framework of the Group of 20 forum.

Korea hosted a G-20 summit in November last year and Paris is scheduled to host this year’s meeting.

The trip to Paris also includes a dinner reception to be hosted by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Yonhap

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