President Lee departing Seoul Airport for Pattaya to attend ASEAN+3 Summit

President Lee Myung-bak is visiting the Thai city of Pattaya from Friday to Sunday (Apr. 10 to 12) to attend the ASEAN+3 Summit and the East Asian Summit.
On the last day of Lee''s Thai visit (Apr. 12), the heads of the three biggest Asian economies (Korea, China and Japan) will get together to discuss ways to fortify East Asian regional cooperation.

The trilateral summit takes place, using the opportunity of the 12th ASEAN+3 Summit, which is scheduled for the previous day. The gathering of the three leaders, President Lee Myung-bak, Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Taro Aso, is the second of its kind after the first one in Fukuoka, Japan, in December 2008.

According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Eun-hye, the three leaders will share ideas to break through the global financial crisis and will discuss the current Northeast Asian situation.

The ASEAN+3 Summit on Apr. 11 will be the Asian version of the G20 financial summit, with the ten ASEAN members and Korea, China and Japan sitting face to face to seek remedies for the financial crisis, Cheong Wa Dae said. President Lee will take the opportunity to specify his idea of “New Asia Diplomacy,” it added.