Lee, Aso Agree to Strengthen Economic Ties
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak and Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed Monday to help Japanese firms increase their presence in the Korean market and boost exchanges between small and mid-sized enterprises in the two countries.
Seoul and Tokyo will also strengthen cooperation in the development of space and atomic technology, and work together to ensure Korea hosts the 2012 World Expo successfully. They also agreed to coordinate policies on global economic issues, such as rising protectionism and financial system reform ahead of the Group of 20 summit of industrialized and emerging economies, scheduled for April in London.
The leaders reached the agreements at their summit at Cheong Wa Dae, which also focused on ways to stabilize regional financial markets and denuclearize North Korea under the framework of the six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
Economic cooperation topped the summit agenda, while thorny historical issues such as Japan's claims to the South Korean islets of Dokdo and Japan's alleged distortions of history were not discussed, the leaders said.
``Korea and Japan are trying to foster a future-oriented relationship and share common goals for regional stability. There are still many barriers, but I'm sure we are moving in the right direction,'' President Lee said during a joint press conference.
Lee urged Japanese firms to increase investment in Korea, saying Seoul will closely cooperate with Tokyo to provide more business opportunities. The two countries agreed to launch an annual forum for CEOs of small firms, with the inaugural meeting planned for Japan in April.
Aso said he and Lee reaffirmed the countries' commitment to multilateral negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
``We exchanged honest views on North Korea. The President and I reaffirmed our basic principle to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions through the six-party talks and agreed to work closely with the Obama administration,'' the prime minister said.
Aso visited Korea with a group of business leaders and CEOs.
On Monday, Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and Tadashi Okamura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met with South Korean business leaders to discuss economic issues and ways to increase exchanges.