By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye will visit Mongolia next week to attend the summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and hold bilateral talks with the Mongolian head-of-state, Cheong Wa Dae announced, Monday.
According to the President’s office, she plans to leave for Ulaanbaatar on the eve of the biennial meeting on July 15 and 16. Following the event, Park will begin her official visit to the country before returning home on July 18.
Marking its 20th founding anniversary, the summit will bring together leaders from 51 countries across Asia and Europe along with those from the European Union (EU) and ASEAN Secretariat.
“President Park’s participation in the ASEM summit will cement the nation’s status as an active player laboring to increase cooperation on the Eurasian continent,” the President’s office said in a statement.
The leaders are expected to discuss a range of global and regional issues, including North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
“We expect the ASEM summit to provide momentum to unify the stance of Asia and Europe on North Korea’s denuclearization,” Cheong Wa Dae said.
In addition, participants will likely discuss Britain’s decision to leave the EU and China’s move to expand its military presence in the South China Sea.
During the ASEM meeting, Park is expected to hold bilateral talks with other participating leaders from Europe and Asia although Cheong Wa Dae did not elaborate.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang are likely to attend the summit.
During Park’s official visit to Mongolia following the two-day ASEM summit, she will sit down with Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj to boost cooperation with the resource-rich country, including Korean companies’ participation in its energy and infrastructure sectors. Mongolia holds the second-largest copper reserves and fourth-largest coal reserves in the world, according to the President’s office.
Along with the bilateral summit, Park will also meet with Korean residents there and attend a Korea-Mongolia business forum to encourage entrepreneurs operating in Mongolia or exploring business opportunities in the country.
“As President Elbegdorj visited Korea in May and Park will visit Mongolia this time, we anticipate that the momentum for a mutually-beneficial, cooperative relationship between the two countries will be strengthened even more,” Cheong Wa Dae said.