The President and President Abdulla Gül of Turkey, during their summit meeting on Tuesday (Jun. 15), exchanged a wide range of opinions on ways for the two countries to improve cooperative ties and other global issues of mutual concern. President Gül is on his first state visit to Korea, from June 14 to 16.

As this year commemorates the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War (1950-53), President Lee expressed gratitude to the Turkish government and its veterans for dispatching troops at the time to aid South Korea. Turkey sent the fourth largest number of troops of the 16 nations that came to South Korea’s rescue. 

The two presidents reconfirmed the long-held friendship between the two nations and pledged to continue developing bilateral ties. The Republic of Korea and Turkey first established diplomatic ties in 1957.

The President and Gül expressed their satisfaction regarding the way that bilateral ties have proceeded so far and agreed to keep it up through an increase of bilateral trade and investment, the conclusion of a free trade agreement, cooperation on energy, construction and defense areas, an upgrade of cultural exchange and others. The two presidents also agreed on close cooperation for the successful hosting of the G-20 Financial Summit scheduled for November in Seoul.

In the meantime, the two heads also exchanged views on the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East. The President, for this part, called for Turkey’s unstinting support in regards to the Cheonan naval ship incident.