South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will embark on a three-nation trip next month, during which he will stop in New Zealand and Australia to announce the official start of bilateral free trade talks, the Presidential office said on Wednesday.
The seven-day trip, starting on March 2, will also take him to Indonesia where he will meet with his counterpart to discuss various bilateral and international issues of mutual interest, the office said.
"Australia and Indonesia are also members of the G-20 summit, so President Lee and their heads of state will discuss ways to increase economic cooperation ahead of the G-20 summit," Kim Eun-hye, a spokeswoman for the Presidential office, told a press briefing. The G-20 meeting is slated to be held in London this April.
Lee heads first to Auckland, New Zealand, for a two-day visit.
"President Lee and New Zealand Prime Minister (John) Key are set to announce the start of negotiations for a free trade agreement to help improve economic relations between the two countries, and will seek ways to cooperate in developing renewable and bio energy," the Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae
said in a press release.
Lee will be in Australia March 4-5 to meet with Governor General Quentin Bryce and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
"President Lee is also scheduled to announce the official start of negotiations for an FTA with Australia while on a state visit there,"
the statement said.
He will also host functions for South Korean expatriates in Australia and New Zealand, as well as for Korean and local business leaders in those countries.
Lee's trip will end in Jakarta, where he will hold official talks with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on ways to increase bilateral cooperation.
"The two heads of state will also discuss ways to cooperate in promoting trade and investment and in countering the global financial crisis. In addition, they will also discuss regional issues, such as ways to increase cooperation between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Indonesia is party," Cheong Wa Dae said.