President Roh's Sales Diplomacy Picks Up Steam in India, Vietnam
- Also attends the Asia Europe Meeting

President Roh Moo-hyun's recent state visits to India and Vietnam facilitated the nation's bids to expand business scope and channels for supply of natural resources from the two nations. Following his visits to Kazakhstan and Russia in August, Roh's nine-day itinerary included attending the 5th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) which attracted 38 heads of state from the two continents.

As the first schedule of his overseas trips, Roh held a summit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations in political, economic and cultural fields and sign agreements on extradition and judicial cooperation. During his three-day stay in India, Roh focused on helping South Korean firms make inroads into the emerging market, according to presidential aides.

Roh asked the Indian government to support the participation of South Korean companies in road, port and other infrastructure projects and in the establishment of an Indian IT software center in South Korea. One of the members of the so-called BRICs grouping, India is the fourth-largest market for South Korean firms after the United States, China and Japan in terms of purchasing power.

Roh flew to Hanoi for the 5th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM-5). Prior to the official opening of the two-day summit, he attended a meeting of Asian leaders to discuss cooperation at the ASEM. The ASEM included three summit sessions, where participants discussed the North Korean nuclear problem, terrorism and other international political issues, globalization and economic partnership between Asia and Europe, as well as information technology and cultural diversity. At the end of the sessions, the Asian and European leaders adopted statements to express their consensus on the issues.

On the sidelines of the ASEM, Roh had one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Germany and the European Union to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue and bilateral economic issues. At the end of the ASEM, Roh began a three-day state visit in Vietnam with an official red carpet welcoming ceremony and an ensuing summit with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.

In Vietnam, Roh continued his "sales diplomacy" by asking Hanoi to help South Korean firms make inroads into the Southeast Asian nation in terms of Internet, CDMA and other state-of-the-art products and the development of oil wells in Vietnam.

Dozens of businessmen tagged along on President Roh's state visits to India and Vietnam, raising the chances for domestic companies to expand trade and investment ties with the two nations. Their tours were planned in view of the growing importance as trade partners of the resource-rich nations, which have surfaced as major markets with relatively strong economic growth rates.

"Expanding cooperative relations with India and Vietnam is needed in order to effectively cope with the rapid change in the business climate around the world," said Chung Woo-sung, presidential aide on foreign policy. In a show of his keen interest in domestic companies' activities in the Indian market, Roh visited the factory of LG Electronics to encourage employees there as his first act upon arrival in the nation. He also met other businessmen from South Korea and India Tuesday and stressed the need for them join hands toward mutual prosperity.

Praising enterprises doing business here for effectively representing national interests, Roh said his administration will do all it can to help them to better their performance.

Officials and company representatives from Seoul and New Delhi also met together and signed agreements to expedite cooperation in electricity, manufacturing plants, exploration of mineral resources, communications and information technology. "We are poised to take follow-up measures to carry out the agreements as there have been tangible outcomes on the occasion of President Roh's visit here," Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Lee Hee-bum said in a media briefing.

South Korea has been targeting India as new market since the nation has emerged as part of BRICs _ along with Brazil, Russia and China _ a grouping of countries seen as driving future world economic growth.

The need for cooperative economic partnership relations with Vietnam has also continued to grow as Seoul and Hanoi have mutually compensating economic structures. A growing number of companies manufacturing code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile phones have been eager to make inroads into the Southeast Asian nation, while others in oil and natural gas have also been exploring chances to increase their business scope. Twenty-seven business people visited India, including leaders of four major economic organizations, such as Kang Shin-ho, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, and Kim Jae-chul, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association. Others include LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo, Kumho-Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo, KT president Lee Yong-kyung, Samsung Electronics president Choi Ji-sung and SK Telecom vice chairman Cho Jung-nam. POSCO president Kang Chang-oh was also included in the presidential entourage and will engage in negotiations for the construction of a steel mill in India. Doosan Heavy Industries' Kim Dae-jung is set to have talks on the envisioned construction a $770-million power plant.

The business leaders attended a Korea-India Business Summit to discuss ways of expanding bilateral economic cooperation in the areas of information technology, manufacturing, electronics and steel. They raised the need to establish a free trade agreement between Seoul and New Delhi to expedite the trade relations further.

Thirty-one business leaders visited Vietnam together with Roh, including SK chairman Choi Tae-won, SK Telecom president Kim Sin-bae and chairmen of the major economic organizations. Roh plans to call on Vietnam to further open doors to South Korean companies in high-speed Internet, mobile communications and mineral resources. Given the need to speed up oil and natural gas projects in Vietnam, the heads of the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation were also included in the entourage.

South Korea and India agreed to set up a comprehensive and cooperative partnership relationship on a long-term basis. President Roh and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to maintain peace and prosperity on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Toward that end, the two leaders adopted a 30-point joint statement at the end of their summit meeting held at India's state guest house. Under the agreement, the two nations will endeavor to promote exchanges of senior officials of government, parliament and political parties.

Seoul and New Delhi are also set to carry out joint research on the feasibility of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement as preparation toward a free trade agreement. The joint statement also features bilateral cooperation in communications and information technology, which it is hoped will be made possible through the synergy between South Korea's hardware industry and India's software sector.

"The recent agreement is expected to lay the groundwork for the two nations to jointly advance into third nations," said Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae-je, who is accompanied Roh on his visit to the nation. In bids to intensify economic exchanges, the two leaders also agreed to enable further Korean companies to participate in India's power generation, construction of sea-float equipment and massive plants.

POSCO will raise its stake in the construction of a steel mill in India while companies from both nations will closely cooperate to jointly explore gas fields in third nations. "The agreements are especially meaningful as they will help pave the way for the two nations to remarkably upgrade bilateral economic relations," said Chung.

India, which had maintained a lukewarm attitude in expanding business ties with South Korea in the past, has now assumed a proactive stance in time with Roh's state visit, another official said.

The two leaders concurred on the need for the international community and relevant parties to seek combined efforts toward peaceful settlement of the standoff over North Korean nuclear weapons program. Singh expressed support for the Korean government's endeavors toward peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula through dialogue.

The two sides reached broad consensus on setup of the "foreign affairs and security dialogue" among diplomatic sources from the year 2005. Seoul has been seeking the forum as part of efforts to strengthen diplomatic relations with India, which has played a leading role in the developing world.

India had sustained a nonalignment policy toward South and North Korea and recently began to tilt toward Seoul in various economic projects. The two leaders inked agreements for extradition of criminals and cooperation in the judiciary sector, and exemption of visa requirements for diplomats and government officials. To facilitate exchanges of business people, the two nations will also engage in negotiations to introduce issuance of dual visas for those on business-related travel.

In an effort to jointly cope with the terror threats, the two nations agreed to support the efforts of the international community while cooperating in regional channel like ASEAN Regional Forum and ASEAN plus three including South Korea, China and Japan.

During the Oct. 8-9 ASEM talks, Roh presented Seoul's vision regarding the Doha Development Agenda under the World Trade Organization (WTO), free trade agreements and technological advancements with the goal of promoting the nation as an open trading partner. Roh also appealed for support for Seoul's stance for peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

In addition, the president explained the lingering dispute over Seoul's nuclear experiments under past governments and stress the nation's determination to use atomic power for only peaceful purposes.

He had a summit meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Oct. 9 and with other EU leaders the following day to discuss ways of promoting economic exchanges between South Korea and European Union and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. Following the ASEM session, Roh began a two-day official state visit to Vietnam to have summit talks with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong. They discussed the means of strengthening bilateral cooperation in energy and mineral resources, and improving the investment climate in Vietnam for South Korean companies.

Before flying to Vietnam, Roh met with Sonia Gandhi, president of India's ruling National Congress, to discuss measures to promote the exchange of officials from parliament and political parties with the aim of enhancing bilateral relations. Roh congratulated Sonia on her party's victory in the general elections, calling on it to extend more assistance to Korean companies active in India.

South Korea and Vietnam agreed to promote the participation of Korean construction companies in various projects for the development of new areas of the Vietnamese capital.

During a summit meeting at the Presidential Palace, President Roh and his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Luong agreed to allow Korean companies to participate more actively in information technology, natural resources and energy development in Vietnam. Roh urged Vietnam to play a more active role in encouraging North Korea to further reforms and open up to the outside world. "I believe there is certain role Vietnam can play in this regard," he said.

"The Vietnamese leader expressed understanding," Chung said. The Vietnamese leader expressed support for a peaceful resolution of outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula through dialogue. He also noted that inter-Korean cooperation in various sectors is contributing to the reconciliation process. "Both sides acknowledged the importance of the six-party talks for lasting peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula," Chung said.

Regarding South Korea's participation in the Vietnam War in the 1960s, Roh expressed regret, saying: "The Korean people harbor a sense of debt to Vietnam over the matter."

"Our two nations share similar experiences of facing and overcoming hardships. The sense of debt prompts us to hope for Vietnam's success in the future," Roh said.

In response, Luong said he hoped bilateral relations would continue to develop despite past animosity. The two leaders adopted a joint statement stressing that bilateral relations should be taken to a higher level from the "comprehensive partnership" relations agreed to in 2001. "The two leaders shared the view that both countries should continue to expand bilateral trade and endeavor to achieve a balance. President Luong thought highly of the investment of Korean enterprises in Vietnam, mainly in the manufacturing sector, and expressed hopes for further increases in investment," according to the statement.

Both sides also agreed to further expand cooperation in the fields of culture, education, health care, academics, sports and tourism.

Hanoi urged Seoul to take steps to correct the widening trade imbalance and expressed hope South Korea would increase imports of Vietnamese agricultural products and expand assistance for relevant industries.

Roh explained the imbalance has mainly been due to different trade structures, while pledging his government would consider Vietnam's request when making policy so that the issue would not hamper bilateral relations.

After the summit, Roh attended a luncheon meeting with around 100 business leaders from South Korea and Vietnam and met with Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh.

Roh managed to reap substantial fruits during his visits to India and Vietnam where he focused on sales diplomacy in the areas of energy, natural resources and information technology, Seoul officials said.

Given the emphasis on economic issues, Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Hee-bum seemed to have a tighter schedule than any other member of Roh's entourage, including Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon.

"President Roh's tours have helped the nation lay the groundwork for further cooperation with the two nations in the areas of mineral resources, construction and information technology," Lee said. Prompted by Roh's brisk diplomacy, a growing number of domestic companies are set to advance into in the two nations' markets for oil exploration and construction of infrastructure facilities like roads and dams, including POSCO's bid to build a massive steel mill in India.

Lee praised Roh for having helped upgrade the nation's image with the recent visit, facilitating domestic companies in their bids to expand exports. In the security area, Roh continued to stress the need to find a peaceful solution to the impasse over North Korea's nuclear programs and explain that South Korea has never attempted to develop its nuclear capacity for military purposes.

Against this backdrop, Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) members backed Seoul's stance, with the European Commission taking "Good note" of South Korea's position.   nw