President Lee Hypes Green Diplomacy

Korea agrees to forge a green alliance with Denmark; reaches agreement for further strategic cooperation with German and French heads of state



President Lee Myung-bak holds a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following their talks in Berlin on May 9; Lee shakes hands with French President Niocolas Sarkozy prior to their talks in Paris on May 13; and Lee speaks on a green growth alliance during an official visit to Denmark on May 12.

Korea has agreed to forge a Green Alliance with Denmark while also agreeing to ramp up strategic cooperation with France and Germany as the Korea-EU FTA is set to take effect on July 1.
Korean President Lee Myung-bak returned home on May 15 after wrapping up a week long trip to Germany, Demark and France from May 8-14.
Korea’s Green Growth Alliance with Demark is the first time Korea has embarked on an alliance in any field except security. President Lee expressed his hope that the green growth alliance between Korea and Demark will combine Denmark’s advanced technology and Korea’s growth momentum.
In a related development, Korea’s Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) established its first overseas office in Copenhagen on May 11 and held an opening ceremony, attended by President Lee. Denmark pledged to contribute $5 million annually for three years to the GGGI.
The ceremony came after the GGGI signed an MOU with the Danish government for collaboration on green growth and another MOU with Denmark’s eco-friendly heating and air-conditioning maker, Danfoss.
Prior to visiting Denmark, Lee visited Berlin, where he held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on ways to expand trade through the Korea-EU FTA.
Korea’s trade with Germany stood at $25 billion last year, and it is forecast to double to more than $50 billion in five years, thanks to the FTA.
At the meeting with Merkel, President Lee offered to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to Seoul for an international security meeting slated for March 26, 2013, if Pyongyang commits to giving up its nuclear weapons and apologizes for its aggressions, including the sinking of South Korean Navy ship Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.
Korea and Germany also agreed to beef up cooperation in other sectors that are needed to improve the quality of life, including culture, education and people-to-people exchanges, Lee said in a nationwide televised address in which he briefed on his summit talks with the European leaders. “As Germany is known to have the highest energy efficiency in the world and top-notch new and renewable energy technologies, enhanced technology exchanges will make a great contribution to upgrading the level of Korea’s technology.”
In connection with the G20 Seoul Summit, Germany gave high marks to the development agenda proposed by Korea, praising it for helping to take economic cooperation with emerging and developing counties to a new height. The two countries reached an agreement to work closely together to further advance that agenda, Lee said.
With regard to inter-Korean issues, he said, “Germany criticized North Korea’s attitude and pledged that it would stand by us as a partner on the path toward overcoming the division of the nation.”
President Lee said he had a chance to meet the chief architects of the unification of Germany and listened to their experiences and ideas. “Lothar de Maiziere, the Prime Minister of East Germany just before reunification, and other leaders of West Germany, who signed reunification documents and took the initiative in national defense and economic integration, told me the true behind-the-scene stories that can be heard nowhere else.”
While visiting France, the last leg of President Lee’s trip, the Korean president held talks with Nicolas Sarkozy and discussed important issues for achieving the sustained growth of the world economy. Lee said, “France promised that through the forthcoming G20 Cannes Summit, it will proactively work toward implementing the agreements that were made at the G20 Seoul Summit, including the Development Agenda.”
President Lee said he and Sarkozy also concurred on the need for international coordination in the area of food supply and energy security. nw

Photo on Courtesy of the MCST