Lee stresses regional financial cooperation to prevent future crises


The leaders of South Korea and Australia agreed to step up efforts on a free trade pact during their talks in Indonesia on Saturday, according to Seoul officials.

President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also agreed to broaden bilateral cooperation in politics, security, trade, energy, diplomacy and other areas of mutual concern.

Their meeting were held on the resort island of Bali where they attended a set of summit meetings with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other key regional partners. This year is the 50th anniversary of Korea-Australia diplomatic relations.

“The two leaders agreed to begin bilateral consultations in earnest over the free trade pact after Seoul’s parliament ratifies the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement,” a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae told reporters.

The two countries launched free trade negotiations in May 2009. Earlier this year, they agreed to try to conclude the negotiations before year’s end.

In a move to enhance their security and diplomatic cooperation, the two leaders decided to hold a “Two Plus Two” meeting on a regular basis, which is to be attended by the defense and foreign ministers of the two countries.

“(We) have been strengthening our ties on the economic front and it would be good for us to enhance our relations in the area of security as well,” Lee was quoted as saying by his aide.

On the same day, Lee also attended the 18-member East Asia Summit, where he stressed member states should bolster their financial cooperation to forestall a possible crisis in the future. Lee’s remarks came as the region strove to shield itself from the possible fallout from the economic crisis in Europe.

He also said that countries in the region should cooperate to come up with more effective measures to respond to natural disasters.

In that regard, leaders during the EAS welcomed the decision to hold a disaster relief exercise in South Korea next year, where 27 member states of the ASEAN Regional Forum are to participate.

U.S. President Barack Obama also attended the EAS and expressed expectation that the summit will serve as a principal venue to discuss a wide range of political and security issues such as maritime security, nonproliferation and disaster management.

EAS member states are the ASEAN Plus Three countries, the U.S., Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. and Russia registered as its members last year.

The EAS was launched in 2005 with an aim to forge an “East Asia Community.” Its inception came amid calls for better regional cooperation in security, diplomatic and economic areas.

Also on Saturday, Lee held talks with the leaders of Japan and China to discuss regional security issues. There, he underscored that the three countries should closely coordinate efforts to persuade North Korea to renounce its nuclear ambitions.

On Sunday, Lee arrived in the Philippines. He is to hold a summit with Philippines President Benigno Aquino on Monday and sign a set of agreements on economic cooperation. 

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)