The President, joined by First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, will attend several major summits in Indonesia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), followed by a state visit to the Philippines slated from November 20 to 22.

Arriving in Bali on November 17, the Korean leader is scheduled to attend the Korea-ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three (Korea, China, and Japan) Summits on November 18, and on the following day he will join the East Asia Summit where the participant nations will discuss ways to reinforce cooperation in the region and at a global level.

At the Korea-ASEAN Summit, the President will exchange opinions with the participating leaders on a wide range of issues including green growth in the face of climate change challenges, multilateral trade, and other international state affairs. The President is expected to stress the need to consolidate more intimate and reciprocal cooperation aimed at narrowing the development gap within the ASEAN nations.

The President will join his Indonesian counterpart to give a keynote speech at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ASEAN BIS) on November 17. The Korean president is expected to encourage Korean and ASEAN entrepreneurs to expand investments, while affirming his commitment to take part in the momentum through multi-dimensional government support for an enhanced partnership in trade and development.

On the sidelines of the three summits, the President is also set to hold a relay of summit talks. Starting with a summit with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesian on November 17 -- where the two leaders will elaborate on concrete steps for a bilateral strategic partnership -- the Korean leader will then participate in a trilateral summit with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts on November 19.

Moving to Manila, the President will pay a state visit to the Philippines upon the invitation of President Benigno Aquino III for a meeting on November 21 to discuss the future direction of the rapidly growing bilateral relations between the two countries.

“The upcoming state visits to ASEAN countries, which coincides with a set of summits, will further enhance the already-solid strategic partnership between ASEAN nations and Korea,” said an official at Cheong Wa Dae.