President Lee Myung-bak delivered a special address to the participants gathered at the Congress Center in Davos for the 40th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday, January 28.

The annual WEF, or Davos Forum, gives heads of state who are closely associated to the theme of the Forum an opportunity to give a special address. This year's Forum was held under the theme, "Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign and Rebuild" and leaders of Korea, Canada and Brazil were given chances to make an address.

The WEF's Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab invited the President to make an address in relation to the new world order represented by the G20 meeting.

In the 15-minute address, the President spoke about the significance of the G20 Summit as the premier forum for international economic cooperation to overcome the global economic crisis and his vision for hosting the Summit this November in Seoul.

He emphasized that the decisions made by the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh in 2009 would be thoroughly implemented. The leaders at that meeting agreed to pursue sustainable and balanced economic development in the post-crisis era by strengthening the financial supervision system worldwide and combating trade protectionism.

The President further promised to develop core agenda items for developing and emerging economies to bridge the gap between rich and poor nations. The construction of a “global financial safety net” will also be included in the agenda, he added.

President Lee emphasized that he would work to open up the G20 Summit to non-member states and the private sector. In this vein, he said, business summits will take place at the G20 Summit in Seoul and businessmen from all over the world will have an opportunity to share their thoughts on expanding investment, consumer spending and economic recovery.

Before the address, the President had a one-on-one meeting with WEF Chairman Klaus Schwab and asked for the Forum's support for the business meetings scheduled to be held at the Seoul G20 Summit.

President Lee held bilateral summits with leaders from Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Jordan and Israel and met with CEOs attending the World Economic Forum before returning to Korea on Saturday, January 30.