By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
South Korea and Singapore agreed Wednesday to increase cooperation in finance, medical sciences and environmental protection, and boost bilateral trade and investment.
At a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee expressed gratitude to Singapore for helping South Korea advance talks on free trade with ASEAN.
President Lee held a summit with the leaders of 10 ASEAN member states from June 1 to 2 on Jeju Island. The two sides signed an investment treaty, removing the biggest hurdle to concluding free trade deal negotiations that started in Nov. 2004.
South Korea already signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore, a member of the economic bloc, in March 2006.
``The two leaders agreed to work together to strengthen regional cooperation further to help Asia ride out the global economic crisis as soon as possible,'' Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
President Lee promised to provide full support to Singapore to help it successfully host the 13th summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, slated for November.
``The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the fact that trade and investment between South Korea and Singapore have surged since the two countries signed the free trade deal,'' the presidential office said. ``They also hoped bilateral cooperation and partnership will continue in the areas of finance, medical science, construction and green growth.''
Singapore asked for Korea's support in rooting out pirates in the Strait of Malacca, a common concern for Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, it said.
Today, President Lee will also hold a summit with visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at Cheong Wa Dae.
The leaders will discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, an aide to Lee said.