The President returned to Seoul early Saturday (Jan. 30), wrapping up his first overseas trip this year to India and Switzerland.

The President elevated bilateral ties between Korea and India to the level of "strategic partnership" during his state visit to New Delhi, while publicizing in the Davos Forum in Switzerland the Korean government''s plan to maximize the G20 Seoul Summit for sustainable economic development in the post-crisis era.

On early Friday (Jan. 29, Davos time), the President participated in a breakfast meeting, which was hosted by the International Business Council and the International Media Council at the Schweizerhof Hotel in Davos. The meeting was part of the 40th World Economic Forum in that city.

In the meeting with about 40 prominent businesspeople and journalists, called the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders, the President presented his thoughts on the global economic recovery, as the leader of the G20 chair nation, and also introduced Seoul''s business-friendly policies.

At the meeting were Dupont CEO Ellen Kullman, Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann, HSBC Chairman Stephen Green, Reuters'' Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger, Asahi Shimbun''s Editor-in-Chief Yoichi Funabashi and many others. Korea''s Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Cho Suck-rai, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hanhwa Group CEO Kim Seung-youn were also at the meeting.

On the same day, the President also met John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, and Bill Gates, head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the former meeting, Lee and Chambers discussed Cisco''s plan to invest in Korea''s IT sector, including the construction of a u-City Global Center in Incheon. In the latter, the President and Gates shared thoughts on the prospect of the world economy development, corporate responsibility and ways to strengthen support for developing countries. Gates has been helping Lee as Global Advisor to the President of ROK.

In an interview with CNN before leaving Switzerland, President the President said the most important role that the G20 should play is laying the groundwork for the world economy''s strong, sustainable and balanced development in the future. He also emphasized that solving the problems of the developmental gap between the G20 member countries and other developing nations is equally important.

In the interview the President went on to say that the global economic growth this year is expected to hover around 3.5% and that Korea is striving to diversify its export items, pioneer new markets in Latin America and Africa, and expand investment in the R&D sector in order to solidify its already fast economic recovery rate.

In response to a question regarding inter-Korean relations, the President emphasized that North Korea should completely give up its nuclear weapons ambitions and secure South Korea''s economic assistance in return, referring to the reciprocal “grand bargain” proposal he initiated in New York in September 2009.

In another interview the President had with BBC on Jan. 28, he stressed that each and every country should be prudent in implementing the “exit strategy” from stimulus packages and activate private investment, in order to prevent another economic recession. The Korean government plans to maintain its fiscal expansionary policy for the time being while encouraging active private investment throughout the year, he explained.

The President added that his country, which has recently transformed itself from an international aid beneficiary to a donor by joining the OECD''s Development Assistance Committee, is working hard to promote its unique culture represented by its language, food and many other assets.