The President today met with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of the Ukraine, who is on an official visit to Korea. At the Cheong Wa Dae meeting, the two leaders discussed matters of mutual concern, including how to promote relations between the two countries and ways to expand substantive cooperation.

 
President Lee and Prime Minister Tymoshenko gave a high evaluation to the steady progress in bilateral relations on a wide range of fronts since the establishment of diplomatic ties in February 1992.

 
The Korean President praised the Ukraine as a nation having great growth potential and expressed the hope that more Korean businesses would be able to advance into the country on the basis of close collaborative relations between the two nations. The Ukrainian Prime Minister responded by saying that she would make efforts to create a business-friendly investment environment for Korean companies.

 
Prime Minister Tymoshenko’s visit is the first by a Ukrainian prime minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations. In this connection, President Lee said that he hoped that the visit would be a cornerstone in promoting bilateral ties between Korea and the Ukraine. In response, the Prime Minister said that the Ukraine hopes to further deepen economic collaboration with Korea that has achieved quantum growth over a short period of time.

 
President Lee also expressed the hope that the Koreans residing in the Ukraine would be able to live stable lives and make contributions to the economic development of the country while serving as a bridge that will help promote bilateral ties. Noting that she had a clear idea of the Korean Government’s concern about this issue, Prime Minster Tymoshenko said that she would do her utmost in working together with the Korean Government.