Seoul, ASEAN to strengthen partnership

HUA HIN, Thailand - Korea and Southeast Asian nations on Saturday agreed to consider promoting their relationship to a higher level of strategic partnership, Seoul officials said.

President Lee Myung-bak and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also promised to broaden their cooperation in trade, development, green growth, education, culture and other various fields during their annual summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.

"The leaders agreed that their governments actively consider the Eminent Persons Group`s recommendations including elevating the Korea-ASEAN ties to a strategic partnership," said a Cheong Wa Dae official.

The EPG comprising top experts from each country was formed in 2007 to take stock of the Korea-ASEAN relations over the past 20 years and come up with proposals to advance their future relations.



The group submitted its final report recommending the two sides forge a strategic relationship in years to come, "in order to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region as well as the world at large."

"This strategic partnership will promote efforts to synergize the potential of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia toward a comprehensive, progressive and dynamic, interconnected and interdependent collaboration," the EPG said in the report.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Korea and ASEAN launched an official ties 20 years ago. They forged a comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2004 and have deepened ties in political, economic and socio-cultural areas.

The envisioned strategic partnership would pave the way for broader diplomatic and security cooperation between the two sides in both regional and global levels.

"The decision to consider the strategic partnership showed that Korea has become ASEAN`s real partner for prosperity," Lee`s spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.

Korea has been pushing to enhance its relationship with ASEAN as part of Lee`s New Asia Initiative aimed at expanding the nation`s role in the continent.

During the summit, the leaders assessed the progress in relations for the past year and identify areas and direction of future cooperation.

Lee stressed Seoul`s commitment to closer ties with the regional bloc, including increased development aid and loans to ASEAN members and financial톝upport for their efforts to fight climate change.

Lee also expressed hopes of hosting the "conference on the viable city," which was proposed at the summit by Singapore`s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the spokeswoman said.

Later in the day, Lee attended the annual ASEAN Plus Three Summit, including China and Japan, in which leaders discussed global economic crisis, climate change, food and energy security and other regional and global issues. "President Lee Myung-bak presented the outcome of the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh last month and stressed that international cooperation was still needed to overcome the global economic and financial crisis," Kim said.

Korea will host a G20 summit in November next year. Lee told the Asian leaders that Korea would make efforts to promote the interests of developing countries at the summit of major economies and would positively consider inviting Vietnam, next year`s chair of ASEAN, to the November meeting.

Lee also unveiled a plan to contribute 150,000 tons of rice to a ASEAN Plus Three food reserve program.

Lee yesterday joined the East Asia Summit involving ASEAN and the three Northeast Asian powers as well as Australia, New Zealand and India.

He returned home later in the day, wrapping up a weeklong tour that also took him to Vietnam and Cambodia.

(jjhwang@heraldm.com)

By Hwang Jang-jin /Korea Herald correspondent