Seoul to host G-20 summit on Nov. 11-12

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with officials' comments and other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea announced Friday that it will host a summit
of the leaders of the world's 20 major economies in Seoul on Nov. 11-12 this year
just ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Japan.
The schedule for the fifth round of G-20 summit was picked to coincide with
planned trips by leaders to the region for the two-day APEC summit to open on
Nov. 13, according to the Presidential Committee for the G-20 Summit.
The committee said it has notified the other G-20 member countries of the
schedule through diplomatic channels.
"All South Korean people should join hands to use the (planned) hosting of the
G-20 summit to enhance national status and upgrade our society by one notch,"
Sakong Il, chairman of the committee said in a press release.
Sohn Jie-ae, spokeswoman at the committee, said at a press briefing later that
the announcement of the dates for the November meeting marks the "start of a
full-fledged voyage towards the (upcoming) G-20 summit."
The G-20, launched in 2008 to counter a global financial crisis, has emerged as a
premier negotiating forum for international economic policy cooperation. The
inaugural session was held in Washington in November that year year, followed by
summits in London in April and in Pittsburgh in September in 2009.
The fourth round is scheduled to be held in the Canadian city of Toronto from
June 26-27.
In its first official activity as chair of this year's G-20 meetings, meanwhile,
South Korea plans to host a meeting of vice finance ministers in Songdo
International City, west of Seoul, from Feb. 27-28.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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