 President Lee Myung-bak, right, shakes hands with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark before a summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Clark arrived in Seoul Thursday for a three-day official visit. / AP-Yonhap |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark agreed to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, Cheong Wa Dae announced.
In a summit Friday, the two leaders also agreed to promote cooperation on various sectors in bids to develop a partnership for the 21st century, the presidential office said.
Prime Minister Clark arrived in Korea Thursday for a three-day official visit.
``The two leaders shared the view that the complementary economic structure of the two countries provides a significant opportunity to further increase trade and investment, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields to achieve this goal,'' Cheong Wa Dae said in a news release.
The results of a joint study on the feasibility of a Korea-New Zealand FTA indicated that a FTA between the two nations will ``render positive economic effects,'' such as increased economic growth rates and expanded bilateral trade, it said.
The two nations will hold inter-governmental preparatory talks to address the FTA issue, including its scope and level of ambition.
Lee and Clark agreed to promote exchange visits by the nations' foreign ministers, defense representatives and politicians, the presidential office said.
They also agreed to develop new joint projects in the field of research, science and technology, such as fostering collaborative research in nano-technology, environmental technology and bio-technology, as well as promote cooperation in the fields of energy, natural resources, agriculture, education and film production.
The two leaders emphasized the need for North Korea to fulfill expeditiously its commitment to disabling all its existing nuclear facilities and providing a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs in a verifiable way in accordance with the agreements reached at the six-party talks, Cheong Wa Dae said.
They agreed to maintain close cooperation on global efforts to combat terrorism, promotion of human rights and democracy, environment and peacekeeping operations, it said.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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