LOS CABOS, Mexico (Yonhap) -- Korean President Lee Myung-bak left for Brazil on Tuesday after the G20 summit in Mexico with other global leaders that focused on how to bring the eurozone debt crisis under control and stabilize the world economy.
The summit wound up with a joint statement calling for boosting growth and job creation to underpin the global economic recovery troubled by the eurozone crisis. The leaders vowed not to seek any protectionist trade policies until the end of 2014.
They also called on eurozone members to take all necessary measures to overcome the debt crisis while voicing support for the 17-member single-currency bloc to take steps toward greater financial integration.
The two-day summit came as global markets have been on edge as the crisis threatened to engulf Spain, the fourth-largest economy in the single-currency zone, after bringing Ireland, Portugal and Greece to their knees over the past two and a half years,
Sunday's general elections in Greece provided a brief respite as pro-euro parties won the vote and defused fears that the country might exit from the zone, one of the most dreaded scenarios not only for Europe, but also the global economy as well.
But the relief was quickly overshadowed by worries about Spain.
During the summit, Lee appealed to crisis-hit nations to come up with fundamental solutions to their debt problems and restore growth momentum through deep-reaching restructuring measures, saying Korea overcame the 1997 Asian financial crisis the same way.
Lee also urged the eurozone to speed up discussions on reforming its system, apparently calling for underpinning its monetary union by a fiscal union and a banking union, while urging other G20 members to strengthen policy coordination to help the eurozone get over the crisis.
On the sidelines, Lee held summit meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and agreed to resume stalled free trade talks with both nations.
South Korea and Mexico launched free trade talks in 2007, but the negotiations have been stalled since the second round in 2008 due in part to concerns in Mexico that such a pact could widen its trade deficit with Korea.
Negotiations with Canada have been suspended since their 13th round in 2008 over Seoul's ban on Canadian beef imports. The ban was lifted early this year.
Lee has aggressively sought free trade agreements with other countries, saying such deals will expand the country's "economic territory." Korea now has FTAs with 45 partners, including the United States, the European Union, and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations.