By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The government will emphasize boosting economic cooperation with energy-rich countries around the world to secure sustainable energy resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday.
In a policy report to President Lee Myung-bak, the ministry unveiled plans for pragmatic diplomacy to help revive the nation's economy.
Under the plans, the ministry aims to establish an ``energy cooperation belt'' with countries with rich energy resources such as Russia, nations in Central Asia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
The government plans to hold a conference presided over by the President on cooperation with foreign nations in the field of energy and resources within the first half of the year, it said. Ministry officials dispatched to foreign bureaus will attend the meeting, the report said.
Currently, the ministry runs a total of 32 foreign offices for energy resources in Russia, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, a ministry official said. The ministry plans to increase the number of such offices to 50 in the coming years in a bid to support the Lee administration's ``energy diplomacy,'' he said.
For example, the government will open new offices in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kyrgyzstan.
The government will also inaugurate a ``Middle East Society,'' an economic cooperation body with some 22 Middle East and African nations on May 25, according to the release.
South Korean firms that want to participate would get support from Seoul and the governments of the member countries through the body, it said.
The ministry will also push for establishing free trade agreements with the European Union and other energy-rich nations, following an early ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade pact.
In a move to strengthen ties with neighboring countries, the government plans to push ahead with forming a ``new East Asia cooperation'' framework involving Japan, China, Russia, Southeast Asian nations, India and Australia, it said.
South Korea's joining the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) of the United States is a policy priority in relations with the U.S. government, it said. The VWP will allow South Koreans to make a visa-free trip to the United States for up to 90 days.
Deputy Foreign Minister Shim Yoon-joe said one of the ministry's top goals is to ``restore'' the relations between Seoul and Washington, admitting the half-century alliance was damaged to an extent for a decade under the previous liberal governments.
Meanwhile, the ministry made it clear that substantial progress at six-party talks aimed at scrapping North Korea's nuclear weapons program is a prerequisite to the implementation of Lee's flagship North Korea policy, ``Vision 3000.''
Vision 3000 is designed to provide conditional economic assistance to the North over the next decade in cooperation with the international community to help boost Pyongyang's per capita income to $3,000.
On relations with Japan, the ministry reaffirmed holding regular ``shuttle diplomacy'' summits.
The ministry also plans to step up cooperation with China, which has considerable political leverage over North Korea and has also emerged as South Korea's largest trading partner.
The government aims to increase mutual trading volume to $200 billion within a few years.
Expanding economic cooperation with Russia, South Korea will focus on the trade of natural resources and joint development of the East Siberian region.
In the meantime South Korea plans to gradually increase the Official Development Assistance (ODA) for developing countries.