Korea''s hosting of a G20 summit implies that the country has taken a place near the center of the international stage, President Lee Myung-bak said at a press conference held at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday (Sep. 30).

The press conference was an opportunity for the President to talk about the achievements Korea had made during the G20 summit held in Pittsburgh on Sep. 25.

"We should successfully host the G20 Summit and make the best of the occasion to raise the country''s international standing," said the President.

Korea has transformed itself from a passive player on the international stage to an active one, leaving the tough days of the past, including a series of invasions from abroad, behind, he said.

The G20 summit will keep working not only as a focal point around which the global economic order will be framed after the international financial crisis, but also as the venue where the issues of energy, resources, climate change and poverty will be intensively discussed, he said, and Korea will play an important role in the next meeting as chair nation.

Korea can also work as a bridge between advanced and emerging economies, as it has the experience of being the latter and is about to join the ranks of the former, he said.

Now is the time when the Korean people should take initiatives not only in problems involving the two Koreas but also in international issues, the President emphasized.

* For the full text of Lee''s address, please click the attachment above