Lee, African Leaders Hold Summit
By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak held separate summits with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Monday, to push for closer economic ties with the African countries.
The two leaders visited Cheong Wa Dae before attending the inaugural conference of the Korea-Arab Society at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.
The presidential office said that Lee highly valued the importance of Djibouti as a gateway to East Africa and asked for Guelleh's support for Korean companies wishing to make inroads into the country for infrastructure projects.
Guelleh explained his country's bid to grow into an East African tourism, financial and maritime hub and expressed hopes for closer bilateral economic cooperation.
He is the first Djiboutian president to visit Seoul. South Korea and Djibouti established diplomatic ties in December 1977. The country became independent from France in 1977 and has a population of 730,000.
In his summit meeting with the Sudanese president, Lee discussed ways to promote bilateral ties between the two nations and address security and humanitarian concerns in the North African state, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Before the summit talks, a Korean business lobby organization signed an agreement with its Sudanese counterpart to expand trade cooperation between companies of the two countries.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation signed the deal, with KCCI Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik and the Sudanese president attending.
Sudan is considered very likely to tap new oil fields. The country ranks fifth among African oil-producing nations. Korea established diplomatic relations with Sudan in April 1977. Korea is poised to send troops to the country under the umbrella of United Nations peacekeeping forces to bring calm to the western region of Darfur.