President Lee Myung-bak, accompanied by First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, will visit London from Mar. 31 until Apr. 4 to attend the second G-20 summit of national leaders, to be held there on Apr. 2. At the summit, President Lee will stress the need to cooperate in formulating macroeconomic policies to overcome the worldwide financial crisis and revitalize the global economy.

He will share with the world leaders Korea''s experience in handling insolvent assets during the Asia-wide financial crisis in 1997. He will also reiterate the importance of thoroughly observing the "stand-still" principle aimed at thwarting trade protectionism -- the principle that Lee proposed and the world leaders agreed to in a joint statement at the first G-20 summit held in Washington, D.C. last November.

The upcoming G-20 summit will be attended by leaders from 24 countries -- G-20 members and four other countries, Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Ethiopia -- and representatives from international organizations, including the UN, IMF and IBRD.

The participating nations will check if the matters agreed on at the first G-20 summit have been implemented, while discussing ways to seek international cooperation on formulating macroeconomic policies, securing stability of financial markets, and overcoming the global financial crisis. They will also discuss ways to cooperate in preventing protectionism in trade and finance and managing financial institutions'' insolvent assets.

Bilateral summits

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, Lee will hold bilateral summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He is also going to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and plans to hold bilateral summit meetings with other leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Presidents Lee and Obama will hold their first meeting on Apr. 2 to exchange views on ways to cooperate to overcome the financial crisis, strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance and seek consensus on the North Korean nuclear and missile issues.

In his bilateral summits with other leaders, Lee will discuss matters of mutual concern, including cooperating in dealing with the economic crisis, stepping up cooperation in economic and trade fields, and discussing the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Interviews with major media outlets

Following a separate interview with CNBC of the United States, he will have a joint interview with Reuters, AFP and Bloomberg in London. In both interviews, he will present his visions for overcoming the economic crisis and his views on how to handle insolvent financial assets.

Luncheon meeting with British business leaders

President Lee will have a luncheon meeting with British business leaders to brief them on Korea''s economic status and ask them to proactively cooperate with and make investments in Korea.

Korea-ASEAN/ASEAN+3/EAS summits

On his way back home, he will attend the 12th Korea-ASEAN summit, the 12th ASEAN+3 summit, and the fourth East Asia Summit (EAS) to be held concurrently in Pattaya, Thailand from Apr. 10 to 12.

At the Korea-ASEAN summit, which the leaders from 10 ASEAN countries will attend, Lee will ask them to attend the special Korea-ASEAN summit to be held in Jeju on June 1-2 and discuss with them ways to successfully operate the newly opened "Korea-ASEAN Center."

At the fourth EAS summit, Lee will stress the need to focus on climate change and express his support for EAS projects, including holding a "global human resources forum."

This summit is expected to lay the foundations for concrete implementation of Lee''s "new Asia initiative," contribute to seeking regional cooperation to overcome the global financial crisis, and help the other countries have a better understanding of the Korean government''s "low carbon, green growth" vision.

By Chung Myung-je
Korea.net Chief Staff Writer