By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Lee Myung-bak will visit three oil rich nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar from Feb. 6 to 11 in an effort to diversify crude oil imports amid mounting pressure for Korea to reduce oil imports from Iran.
Ahead of the trip to Middle East, Lee will also visit Turkey for three days from Feb. 4, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release Monday.
During summit talks with President Abdullah Gul slated for Monday in Ankara, the two leaders will discuss ways to boost investment, seek a free trade agreement, help Korean firms join infrastructure building projects there and beef up cooperation in the international community.
The two leaders are scheduled to discuss ways to deepen bilateral ties as the sides agreed to upgrade relations to a strategic partnership on Jan. 20 when Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan held talks with his Turkish counterpart.
During the visit, Lee will meet Ankara University students to exchange views on Korean culture and “hallyu” or the Korean wave. Approximately 150 students majoring in Korean language plan to attend the meeting.
Lee’s visit to Turkey comes nearly three months after he met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the November G20 summit in Cannes, France.
At that time, Erdogan asked South Korea to participate in a deal to construct nuclear power plants in Turkey.
Asking for anonymity, a Cheong Wa Dae official said she didn’t see any meaningful progress on the power plant issue.
In Saudi Arabia, Lee will hold a meeting with King Abdullah bin Adbul Aziz Al Saud to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in energy, construction, defense and healthcare.
Lee and King Abdullah will attend the Janadria Festival, Saudi Arabia’s largest culture festival.
During his trip to the oil rich country, Lee will also hold talks with Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Cabinet ministers handling defense and oil and natural resources.
After wrapping up his two-day visit, Lee will head to Qatar for a summit with Qatari King Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The two heads of state will exchange views on cooperation in energy, trade and investment, construction and healthcare and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in climate change and green growth.
Before heading back to Seoul, Lee will visit the United Arab Emirates for talks with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.