◈ Holding a Summit Talk with Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
President Park Geun-hye and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, who is making a state visit in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties, held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae on December 9. They discussed how to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in a variety of areas, including national defense, the defense industry, trade and investment, the avoidance of double taxation, construction and infrastructure building, agriculture and collaboration in e-government as well as education and culture.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Holding Summit Talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
President Park held a summit meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to discuss measures to bolster bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade, infrastructure, construction, defense, education, culture, education, healthcare and tourism.
President Park told the Malaysian leader that, “Korea and Malaysia forged a special relationship thanks to Malaysia`s Look East Policy of the early 1980s. Since then, the two countries have developed their relationship by becoming an important cooperation partner for each other in various sectors. I hope that both countries can deepen and advance their cooperation partnership through this summit.”
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During the Korea-Vietnam summit, President Park and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung declared the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. The free trade negotiations between Korea and Vietnam reached conclusion after 28 months, making Vietnam Korea’s 15th FTA partner.
In regard to issues involving the Korean Peninsula, President Park expressed concern over North Korea, as Pyongyang has ignored the requests of the international community and has stuck to accelerating its nuclear weapons program. She hoped that North Korea would be able to follow the path of change like Vietnam has done, becoming a country that has carried out reforms, achieved economic growth and become an exemplary model of a former socialist state under the Doi Moi Policy.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Attending the ASEAN-ROK CEO Summit
President Park Geun-hye emphasized the need to increase economic cooperation between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) CEO Summit in Busan on December 11.
The president spoke about the Korea-ASEAN relationship which has continued to make advancements since 1989 when the two first established dialogue. She mentioned the bilateral trade between Korea and ASEAN which exceed USD 130 billion last year, growing from only USD 61 billion in 2006. “Korea and ASEAN need to combine their strengths and create synergies to infuse new vitality into the economy of both regions,” said the president. She proposed three directions in order to create synergies in this respect.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Holding a Series of Summits with Myanmar President U Thein Sein, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha
In the summit with Myanmar President U Thein Sein at the BEXCO center in Busan, President Park Geun-hye said, "It is nice to meet again after having met at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 Summit in Myanmar in November. Next year is a meaningful year marking the fourth anniversary of the Korea-Myanmar diplomatic relationship. I hope that our bilateral relations will be able to develop further."
In response, President Thein Sein said, "I am glad to have a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. The Myanmar government allowed Korea to build the Martyrs’ Mausoleum in Yangon in honor of the members of the Korean delegation who were killed at a memorial to commemorate General Aung San," referring to the 1983 bombing.
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Later in the day, President Park held a summit with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and expressed her gratitude that President Joko Widodo was able to attend the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit despite such a busy schedule, as it has been less than two months since he was inaugurated.
"On December 1, a Korean deep-sea fishing vessel sank in the Bering Sea in Russian waters, killing Indonesian sailors onboard. I would like to deliver sincere words of condolence to President Joko Widodo and to the bereaved families," said President Park.
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President Park also held a summit with Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on December 11. "When the Korea- ASEAN relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2010, Laos played a key role as mediator, making a strong contribution," said President Park.
"Next year will be a meaningful year, marking the 20th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations. I hope that the public of our two nations will be able to enhance their mutual understanding and friendship through the many commemorative events planned to mark the reestablishment of diplomatic relations."
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Finally, President Park held a summit with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha. "Our two nations have been traditional allies and strategic partners and have developed a friendly cooperative relationship over many areas," said President Park.
"Thailand dispatched both its army and its air force during the Korean War. During that war, Thai soldiers were known for their braveness and they were even nicknamed the `Small Tigers`."
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Attending a Welcome Dinner at the BEXCO Convention Center The last leg of the first day`s schedule at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit that kicked off in Busan on December 11 was a welcome dinner held at the BEXCO convention center in Busan. The formal banquet brought together the different cultures and leaders from 11 Asian nations.
During the welcome dinner, President Park Geun-hye linked unity among ASEAN to Korea’s traditional agricultural methods used to harvest rice. “In Korea, there’s a saying that says, ‘The process of harvesting rice, from sowing through to reaping, requires a farmer`s touch 88 times,`” the president began.
“However, since a single farmer cannot do all 88 tasks, the whole community has to help out in each other’s fields, sharing the labor. This is called 'Poomasi'. Such communal sharing of labor can be found in the close ties between Korea and ASEAN, too,” she said.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Holding Summit Talks with Filipino President Benigno Aquino and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore in Busan on December 11. The leaders discussed measures to bolster bilateral cooperation.
“I would like to express my deep condolences to the president of the Philippines and to the Filipino people for the massive loss of lives and damage caused by the recent Typhoon Hagupit,” said President Park. She also expressed her deep appreciation to her Filipino counterpart for attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Republic of Korea (ROK) Commemorative Summit despite the difficult current situation in his home country.
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Later in the day, President Park held summit talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. At the summit, President Park said, “I am glad to hold summit talks on the exact same day as last year`s Korea-Singapore summit.”
She told the Singaporean leader that, “I am glad that both countries have implemented the agreements of previous summits by opening a joint research and development center in the healthcare sector and an IT support center.”
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Attending a Special Exhibition on Innovation in Public Administration in Korea and ASEAN with Leaders of the 10 ASEAN Countries
Korea has shared its own experiences with innovation in public administration with the 10 ASEAN countries, including its e-government systems and the Saemaul Undong system, Korea’s set of rural development policies from the 1970s to 1980s.
Following the second session of the December 12 summit between Korea and the 10 ASEAN members currently underway in Busan, President Park Geun-hye and her ASEAN counterparts toured an exhibition that focused on Korea-ASEAN administrative innovation.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Proposing Korea-ASEAN Action Plan
President Park Geun-hye has proposed to the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that they should set up a 2016-2020 action plan that would deepen Korea-ASEAN cooperation in three broad sectors: the economy, politics and culture.
President Park made the proposal during the first session of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit being held at the BEXCO convention center in Busan on the morning of December 12. She said, “We need to upgrade our strategic partnership through more substantial cooperation backed by the quantitatively expanded cooperation built over the past 25 years.”
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit Adopts Joint Statement
The ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit has adopted a joint statement on its future vision and has wrapped up its schedule.
Participating leaders attended the first and second sessions of the summit, luncheon and then a joint press conference. The themes of the two sessions were the cooperative relationship between Korea and ASEAN and its future direction, and international security issues centered on responses to climate change and to natural disasters.
During the two-day summit, leaders expressed their satisfaction on the deepened relationship between Korea and ASEAN that has developed over the past 25 years, ever since 1989 when Korea established a dialogue relationship with ASEAN. They agreed to bolster cooperation in various sectors, including the economy, trade, security, people-to-people exchanges and on development.
☞Full Text of the Article ◈ Holding a Summit Talk with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
President Park hosted a summit meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 13. The two heads of state discussed measures to strengthen bilateral relations, economic cooperation, development cooperation and issues on the Korean Peninsula, among other things.
President Park Geun-hye said that, “In the near future, our two nations should work together to adopt the ‘double taxation’ avoidance system, currently under discussion."
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http://english.president.go.kr (Cheong Wa Dae Website) Wi Tack-whan, Limb Jae-un,Yoon Sojung (Korea.net Staff Writers)
