PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak began a two-day trip to Cambodia with a visit to Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni shortly after his arrival here Thursday.
Lee was set for a bilateral summit with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen later in the day.
"President Lee and King Sihamoni discussed ways to expand cooperation between their countries in various areas, including the agricultural and cultural sectors, while the president noted the development of their relationship since the normalization of their ties in 1997," Lee's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Lee's trip here comes as part of a three-nation tour that earlier took him to Vietnam. He will head to Thailand on Friday for a regional summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that will also involve the leaders of Japan and China.
The trip was expected to help significantly improve Seoul's relations with Phnom Penh as the sides were set to sign an extradition treaty and a revision to the basic agreement on South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Seoul agreed in June to provide US$60 million in loans from its development fund in a summit between Lee and the Cambodian prime minister held in Seoul.
The revision to the EDCF agreement, to be signed on the sidelines of the Lee-Hun Sen summit, will lead to the provision of an additional $140 million by 2012, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through an exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest-circulation daily Rasmei Campuchea published Thursday.
South Korean investment in Cambodia increased 75 times to nearly $2.5 billion last year since their diplomatic normalization in 1997. Seoul had severed its ties with Cambodia in 1975 when the communist Khmer Rouge government took control.
Seoul has agreed to launch a joint development project for Phnom Penh, through which it will help set up "master plans" for the development of Cambodia while sharing its own development experience with the country, according to the Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman.
An agreement will also be signed later Thursday on Cambodia's provision of 200,000 hectares of land, over 10 times the size of Washington D.C., for forest plantation by South Korea.
"Considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and ASEAN, as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation between the countries will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in the interview with Rasmei Campuchea, held in Seoul before starting his trip.
The signing of the extradition treaty, to apply to those suspected of crimes punishable by two or more years of imprisonment, will help improve South Korea's image here, spokeswoman Kim said.
"It will also help protect the citizens and South Korean residents in Cambodia by making sure that Southeast Asia will no longer be the safe haven of criminals," she said.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
S. Korean president says Cambodia a 'valuable' partner for growth
By Byun Duk-kun
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope to significantly improve his country's relations with Cambodia Thursday, saying cooperation between the two will provide new opportunities for growth for both of them.
"Cooperation between the two countries is being actively made in various fields and considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest daily Rasmei Campuchea, published Thursday.
The transcript of the interview, held in Seoul before Lee's departure on his ongoing three-nation Southeast Asian tour, was released by his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as Lee was en route to the Cambodian capital from Vietnam.
Both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which will meet in Thailand on Saturday.
Lee said the countries' relations improved at an unprecedented pace since they normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, during which direct investment by South Korean firms in Cambodia jumped 75 times to nearly US$2.5 billion.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," he said.
Lee and Hun Sen had held a bilateral summit in June when the Cambodian prime minister visited South Korea for a special Korea-ASEAN summit, at which South Korea agreed to provide $60 million to Cambodia in loans from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Lee and the Cambodian prime minister were set to hold a bilateral summit here later in the day, at which the sides will sign a revision to their basic agreement on the EDCF that will lead to Seoul's provision of $200 million from 2009-2012, he said.
The South Korean leader also called for efforts to build a regional community in East Asia as his trip largely aims to improve Korea's relations with ASEAN countries under its "New Asia Initiative."
"The efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and integration in the East Asian region must first focus on areas where cooperation is readily possible. And during that process, we must seek to build an open and inclusive community, rather than a closed and exclusive group of countries," he said.
Lee also sought to win Cambodia's support for his country's efforts to denuclearize North Korea, explaining in detail his recent proposal for a "grand bargain" denuclearization of the communist North.
"This (proposal) seeks to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear issue by completely removing the key elements of the North's nuclear programs from the very start," he said.
The president said his country will also work to promote Cambodia and other ASEAN nations' interests in the international community.
South Korea is set to host a G-20 summit in November 2010 while it is also set to take the chair of the economic conference for the year.
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope to significantly improve his country's relations with Cambodia Thursday, saying cooperation between the two will provide new opportunities for growth for both of them.
"Cooperation between the two countries is being actively made in various fields and considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest daily Rasmei Campuchea, published Thursday.
The transcript of the interview, held in Seoul before Lee's departure on his ongoing three-nation Southeast Asian tour, was released by his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as Lee was en route to the Cambodian capital from Vietnam.
Both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which will meet in Thailand on Saturday.
Lee said the countries' relations improved at an unprecedented pace since they normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, during which direct investment by South Korean firms in Cambodia jumped 75 times to nearly US$2.5 billion.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," he said.
Lee and Hun Sen had held a bilateral summit in June when the Cambodian prime minister visited South Korea for a special Korea-ASEAN summit, at which South Korea agreed to provide $60 million to Cambodia in loans from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Lee and the Cambodian prime minister were set to hold a bilateral summit here later in the day, at which the sides will sign a revision to their basic agreement on the EDCF that will lead to Seoul's provision of $200 million from 2009-2012, he said.
The South Korean leader also called for efforts to build a regional community in East Asia as his trip largely aims to improve Korea's relations with ASEAN countries under its "New Asia Initiative."
"The efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and integration in the East Asian region must first focus on areas where cooperation is readily possible. And during that process, we must seek to build an open and inclusive community, rather than a closed and exclusive group of countries," he said.
Lee also sought to win Cambodia's support for his country's efforts to denuclearize North Korea, explaining in detail his recent proposal for a "grand bargain" denuclearization of the communist North.
"This (proposal) seeks to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear issue by completely removing the key elements of the North's nuclear programs from the very start," he said.
The president said his country will also work to promote Cambodia and other ASEAN nations' interests in the international community.
South Korea is set to host a G-20 summit in November 2010 while it is also set to take the chair of the economic conference for the year.
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