Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

President of The Republic of Korea Lee Myung-Bak (retranslated): I wish a warm welcome to President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and the entire Russian delegation here in our country.

I took part in September in the second Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavl, and delivered an address there. President of Russia Medvedev’s speech, in which he gave a frank presentation of Russia’s democracy and modernisation efforts made a deep impression on me. I think this was a forward-looking speech.

I believe that this official visit by the Russian President, which coincides with the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, will give a big boost to developing bilateral relations focused on the future.

”Our talks took place in a very constructive, businesslike and trusting spirit. They really do reflect the level our partnership has reached today. This is the result of 20 years of efforts since our countries established diplomatic relations.“

President Medvedev and I agreed during our talks today that over these 20 years our relations have progressed dynamically in various areas such as politics, the economy, science, technology, culture, and others.

We noted too that the various events to mark this anniversary, and the opening of the Korea-Russia Dialogue, which creates a platform for comprehensive discussion with NGOs playing a leading role, have laid a broad base for further development of our bilateral relations.

We agreed to make every effort to continue this kind of development, give our relations new substance, and give concrete form to the strategic partnership that we set as our goal in September 2008.

We share the opinion that our countries have great potential for expanding practical cooperation and agreed to do all we can to achieve practical results in various sectors such as trade and investment, energy and natural resources, industry, infrastructure, and advanced technology. We also believe that cooperation in developing Siberia and the Far East and Russia’s economic modernisation are in our mutual interests, and we agreed to work closely together to achieve concrete results.

It was very good to see that so many businesspeople accompanied President Medvedev on this visit. The Korea-Russia Business Dialogue opened today, holding active discussions in which various experts and businesspeople took part.

I also want to note that we signed today an agreement on sea transport, and an agreement on temporary employment. We signed a package of memorandums of understanding too, including a memorandum of understanding on TV and radio broadcasting and telecommunications, and a memorandum of understanding on economic modernisation. This creates the legal base for intensifying our exchanges and advancing the practical cooperation between our countries.

We both recognise the importance of a comprehensive and final settlement to the North Korean nuclear problem in the interests of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia in general. We agreed to continue our cooperation aimed at bringing about the conditions for resuming the six-party negotiations.

We appreciate our bilateral cooperation in successfully organising the G20 summit in Seoul, and also agreed to work closely together within international and other organisations.

We decided too to closely cooperate in preparing the APEC summit in Vladivostok and the Nuclear Security Summit in Korea in 2012.

We reached agreement on joining our efforts to counter effectively the major global threats such as climate change, international terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy, and cybercrime. 

I am pleased that President Medvedev’s visit creates the opportunity to enrich our strategic partnership with new content, and I hope that Korea and Russia will continue their mutually beneficial cooperation as dependable partners able to ensure common prosperity in the twenty-first century.

President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President Lee Myung-bak, I start by greeting the journalists present.

First of all, I want to say that I agree with the President of the Republic of Korea that our talks took place in a very constructive, businesslike and trusting spirit. They really do reflect the level our partnership has reached today. This is the result of 20 years of efforts since our countries established diplomatic relations.

”Systematic contact is very important for building up full-fledged relations. Top-level contacts are one of the most important parts of promoting the dialogue between our countries and building up the strategic partnership.“

The result of these efforts is reflected in the bilateral documents signed just before, both intergovernmental and business agreements. This is a good start for the future and I am very happy that these documents have been signed during this visit.

Systematic contact is very important for building up full-fledged relations. President Lee and I meet regularly at different summits. The President visited the Russian Federation recently, where he gave a very interesting address at the Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavl. I think that top-level contacts are one of the most important parts of promoting the dialogue between our countries and building up the strategic partnership that we outlined in 2008.

Among the documents we signed today I want to mention one in particular. As a matter of fact, it is merely a memorandum, but it is very important even so because it is about Russia’s economic modernisation and developing innovation cooperation, especially taking into account the Republic of Korea’s experience in this area.

We discussed all manner of big projects, of course, including energy projects. We have already developed cooperation in this sector and will continue to do so. We reviewed promising projects to explore natural resources in Siberia and the Far East, and also possibilities for operating jointly in third countries. All of this has been contributing to strengthening full-scale economic ties between us.

Before coming here to the presidential palace, I attended the 3^rd Korea-Russia Business Dialogue. It is very important of course that our companies have opportunities for direct contact. I would like to say once again that we will continue to do everything we can to facilitate this kind of cooperation as much as possible. Present here too are regional governors in whose regions big projects are underway. I am sure that their number is set to grow.

Our countries’ partnership is not only about economic cooperation. We conduct a broad foreign policy dialogue and work together on coordinating foreign policy efforts. No doubt, we have a particular focus on the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and the Korean Peninsula.

Mr President and I discussed denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed our commitment to the six-party negotiation process, and called for resumption of these talks as soon as possible subject to the terms and conditions already set.

There is serious conflict potential in Northeast Asia and in the Asia-Pacific region in general, and there is therefore no alternative to efforts to build up dialogue and strengthen mutual understanding between all the countries concerned.

”The modern security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region must be based on the universal principles of international law and on agreements between partners that take into account the lawful interests of all countries in the region.“

The modern security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region must be based on the universal principles of international law and on agreements between partners that take into account the lawful interests of all countries in the region. We will continue to coordinate our foreign policy efforts with our South Korean partners.

This visit is taking place just before the G20 summit is due to begin. This is a very important event. I am sure that our Korean friends have made excellent preparations for the summit. Tomorrow we will discuss international affairs and the economic situation, our crisis recovery efforts, and additional steps to design a new international financial architecture. I think this kind of cooperation between our countries is quite well organised now.

We hope for close cooperation in all areas. I want to mention one more subject – the dialogue between our two countries’ civil societies, organised by St Petersburg State University and Koryo University. This is a new channel for contact between our countries, a non-governmental but very important channel of communication. I am sure that the President and I will give it our attention.

Thank you for your time.