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President Lee’s New Asian Diplomacy
Assessment: Conducted mainly to expand Seoul’s diplomatic horizon to a broader Asia-Pacific audience, South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak conducted a seven-day tour visiting New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, where he unveiled his vision for a “New Asia.” His talks were aimed at drafting measures to help overcome the global economic crisis while expanding Seoul’s focus from economic cooperation to a broader scope of security and culture. In New Zealand and Australia, negotiations for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) were initiated, and in Indonesia there was agreement to cooperate on defense, the global economy and energy issues as well as initiatives in oil and farming. A successful trip that has the potential to jump-start a sagging global economy, Lee set out an agenda for Korean diplomats in Asia on how to achieve his new initiative as well as efforts for establishing free trade deals with all countries in Asia.
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