The President is scheduled to make a visit to Saint Petersburg in the Russian Federation November 1-2. During his two-day stay there, the President will hold a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and attend the 2nd Korea-Russia Dialogue. Subsequently, the President will leave for France to take part in the 6th G20 Summit to be held in Cannes, November 3-4.

Visit to Russia

The President will arrive in Saint Petersburg, Russia on November 1. On the following day, the President and President Medvedev are scheduled to hold a summit.

During the summit, the two leaders are expected to delve into ways to give more concrete shape to the strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations, to enhance substantive collaboration and to work closely together for the modernization of the Russian economy.

On top of this, they will exchange ideas on issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, including the North Korean nuclear problem, and the Northeast Asian region. The two leaders will also extensively discuss ways to work together in the international arena, including collaboration for the successful hosting of such international conferences as the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit and APEC Summit in Vladivostok, both to be held next year. After the Korea-Russia summit, the two leaders will attend the closing ceremony of the 2nd Korea-Russia Dialogue hosted by Saint Petersburg State University. At the ceremony, the Presidents will be briefed by organizers on what has been discussed on ways to promote the relations between Korea and Russia during the Dialogue and deliver congratulatory remarks.

The G20 Summit in Cannes

The President is to attend the G20 Summit in Cannes November 3-4. The agenda of the Summit includes response measures for the financial crisis in the euro zone, macroeconomic policy coordination for the recovery and growth of the global economy, reform of the international currency system, financial safety nets, development, mitigation of price fluctuations in the commodity market and global governance.

The B20 Business Summit and dinner are slated for November 2-3, prior to the G20 Summit. At the November 2 dinner meeting anticipated to be attended by some 150-200 global leaders representing international businesses, governments and international organizations, the President is to deliver a speech on the role of the business community in tiding over the current economic crisis.

* Government press release (October 24)