With a recent trip to Southeast Asia, The President has helped to secure Korea’s prospects for expanded diplomatic and economic cooperation with key players in the region.

The President returned to Seoul on November 11 following a five-day trip to Indonesia and Thailand that began on November 7. As explained by Cheong Wa Dae, his trip had been planned in accordance with his administration’s “New Asia Diplomacy” strategy, which seeks to solidify Korea’s role as a partner with the fast-growing states that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 
 

“As countries rich in human capital as well as natural resources, both Indonesia and Thailand have maintained abundant growth potential even amid the global economic crisis,” said Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Jeong-ha in a phone interview with Yonhap News on November 10. “Cooperation with these partners is an essential part of Korea’s own continued advancement.”

In line with these aims, The President’s itinerary began at the Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia from November 8 to 9. He not only delivered the keynote address for the forum -- his second time since the 2010 forum -- but also co-headed the forum’s general debate with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Notably, The President took the occasion to mention the unresolved human rights issue of comfort women during World War II. This was his second time broaching the topic while overseas, the first having been during a speech at a university in Oslo, Norway in September. 
 

The President also met with President Yudhoyono for a summit, during which the two leaders agreed to cooperate closely to expedite talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that is set to expand bilateral trade and investment.

“I reaffirmed collaborative ties between Korea and Indonesia in large-scale joint investment projects that are in the works as well as for cooperation in the defense industry and energy sector,” recounted The President in his November 12 radio and Internet speech. “Our two countries also signed an MOU on the joint development of an environmentally-friendly green car.”

While in Thailand for the second leg of his trip, The President secured an agreement with his Thai counterpart Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on November 10 to upgrade bilateral relations to “strategic partnership” status, ahead of next year’s 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties. 
 

The trip was the first state visit by a Korean head of state to Thailand in 31 years. The President also became the first Korean leader in history to pay a visit to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Thailand, in honor of the brotherhood forged between the two countries over half a century ago.

The President’s stop in Thailand also provided an opportunity to seek expansion of the bilateral economic partnership, with an upcoming KRW 12 trillion water management project by the Thai government providing the focal point for talks.

On November 10, The President toured the Chao Phraya River as well as related water management facilities. During his summit with PM Shinawatra on the same day, The President expressed his interest in providing support for the upcoming project and explained in-depth the success of Korea’s own national water management project. 
 

In March earlier this year, PM Shinawatra visited one site of Korea’s national rivers project after taking an interest in Korea’s water management and flood control systems following the devastating flooding that affected Thailand in 2011.

By Kwon Jungyun
Korea.net Staff Writer