By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak will visit the United States from Sept. 20 to 26 to participate in a summit on climate change hosted by the United Nations in New York and a meeting of G20 leaders in Pittsburg, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.

Lee will visit the U.N. headquarters on Sept. 23 to deliver a keynote speech on Korea's globalization efforts and "green growth" initiatives at a U.N. conference.

It will be the first time for Lee to visit the U.N. headquarters since his inauguration in February last year.

In Pittsburg, the G20 is expected to pick South Korea as the host nation of next year's gathering, which is likely to be held in April or May.

Upon arriving in New York, Lee will hold talks with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, on Sept. 21, over climate change and the geopolitical situation on the Korean Peninsula.

He will then attend a luncheon jointly hosted by the Korea Society, the Asia Society and the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations and deliver a speech on the North Korean nuclear issue and the Korean economy.

The next day, he will attend the U.N. summit on climate change. Along with the leaders from 15 other nations, Lee will preside over roundtable discussions, during which he will introduce his "low-carbon, green growth" policy and urge the international community to step up efforts to protect the environment, the presidential office said.

The summit will focus on the need for urgent action, and to mobilize the highest level of political will needed to reach a fair, effective, and scientifically ambitious global climate deal at the U.N. Climate Change Conference slated for December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The summit is not a negotiating session, but a forum where leaders can discuss fundamental issues, find common ground and provide guidance to their negotiators, according to the U.N.

After delivering a speech at the conference on Sept. 23, he will attend a reception for participants hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

There could be a bilateral summit between Lee and Obama during Lee's U.S. visit, but it depends on the circumstances, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.

President Lee will then fly to Pittsburg on Sept. 24 to participate in the two-day G20 summit. On the sidelines of the meeting, Lee plans to hold a string of bilateral summits, the spokesman said without elaborating.

During the meetings, Lee will call for the need to prepare for economic "exit strategy" to achieve stable global growth and urge countries to remove protectionist measures.

He will also ask industrialized nations to strengthen policy coordination with major developing nations in setting up economic plans, the presidential office said.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr