President Lee Jae-myung Holds Summits with South Africa and Australia at G7 Summit

On the 16th (local time), President Lee Jae-myung visited Kananskis, Canada, at the invitation of the G7 summit and held consecutive summits with the Presidents of South Africa and Australia.

Diplomatic engagements, which had been suspended after the emergency martial law of December 3, have now officially resumed.

According to the Presidential Office, President Lee met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the first agenda of the G7 summit to discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, President Lee evaluated, "Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, South Africa, as a troop-contributing country during the Korean War, has strengthened cooperation with Korea in various fields."

He then proposed, "Let us closely cooperate so that practical cooperation in trade, investment, energy, and other areas can continue to increase between our two countries."

President Ramaphosa congratulated the Lee administration's inauguration.

He emphasized, "Korea and South Africa are precious partners sharing democracy" and expressed his intention to invite President Lee to the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg this November.

Korea-Australia Summit: Discussions on Strengthening Energy and Resource Cooperation

The subsequent summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese focused on enhancing cooperation in various fields, including defense and defense industry, clean energy, and supply chains involving critical minerals.

Upon meeting Prime Minister Albanese, President Lee greeted him with a smile, saying, "Nice to meet you."

Prime Minister Albanese emphasized, "Australia is a stable energy resource supplier for the Republic of Korea," and expressed his willingness to visit Korea during the upcoming APEC summit in Gyeongju.

In response, President Lee stated, "The two countries have a very close economic relationship, and there are many areas for future cooperation," mentioning, "In particular, we are quite dependent on Australia regarding resources and energy."

He further highlighted, "Australia and Korea have an immensely close and special relationship," emphasizing his hope that this meeting would lead to a significantly more cooperative and future-oriented relationship between Korea and Australia.

Image source: President Lee's first overseas visit after 12 days in office / News1, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa / gettyimageskorea, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia / gettyimageskorea