ID :
182141
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 18:21
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https://www.oananews.org//node/182141
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Lee pitches green growth, Korean unification in Europe
By Chang Jae-soon
PARIS (Yonhap) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak used his weeklong European tour to demonstrate his unwavering commitment to unification with North Korea and make a strong pitch for his global initiative for "green growth" and trade and investment with the region.
The highlight of the trip to Germany, Denmark and France was South Korea's launch of a "Green Growth Alliance" with Copenhagen that calls for cooperation in environment-friendly technologies for a joint foray into foreign markets for green products and services.
The alliance will be a win-win and mutually beneficial partnership that combines Denmark's leading green growth technologies with South Korea's fast-growing environment-friendly technologies and powerful high-tech manufacturing skills, officials said.
A top global leader in green growth, Denmark has aggressively pushed for development of environment-friendly technologies, with a vision known as "Energy Strategy 2050," to end its reliance on fossil fuels by 2050. The country has the No. 1 market share in the world's wind power market.
Under Lee's drive, South Korea has also actively pursued green growth, seeing the area as a fresh engine for its economic growth. The country's renewable energy sector grew six times in just three years while making big progress in such areas as electric vehicles and energy-efficient lighting.
In the first joint step under the green alliance, the governments and leading companies of the two sides signed a total of nine memoranda of understanding, vowing to cooperate closely in such areas as renewable energy, smart grid electricity, hydrogen vehicles, wind power and fuel cells.
During Lee's stay, the South Korean-led the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) opened its first overseas office in Copenhagen with the aim of developing it into an international organization.
Lee set up the institute last year to study green growth strategies and policies and provide relevant knowhow to developing nations.
In Berlin, the symbolic city of German unification, North Korea was a major topic. Lee repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing the divided Korean states together, saying unification is "not a matter of choice but a must" that should be sought at any cost because it will provide the Korean people with a springboard to prosperity.
Lee urged Pyongyang to give up its nuclear programs, saying that a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is an important first step for unification. He stressed South Korea should also be well prepared to become one nation with the destitute North, apparently referring to the massive unification cost Seoul has to shoulder.
After summit talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lee offered to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to next year's Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul if Pyongyang makes a firm commitment to forsake its nuclear ambitions.
Chances of North Korea accepting the offer are low, and the invitation proposal was seen as more aimed at pressuring the North to make a strategic choice to give up its nuclear ambitions and break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations.
The proposal was also seen as aimed at demonstrating that Seoul is always open to dialogue and want rapprochement with the communist nation amid accusations from critics that his administration is taking too hard a line on the North.
In Pyongyang's first reaction, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland denounced Lee's offer as "ridiculous" and an attempt to disarm and invade the communist nation jointly with the U.S.
But Lee said he does not consider it an official reaction.
Lee's trademark "sales diplomacy" was the underlying theme in the European tour, which came right after South Korea's parliament ratified a free trade agreement with the European Union.
South Korea is the first Asian nation to sign a free trade agreement with the EU.
In every stop of the trip, Lee used the trade accord, set to take effect in July, to make a case for expanding trade and investment. He told government and business leaders in all three nations that South Korea can serve as a stepping stone for their expansion to other foreign markets linked to South Korea via free trade agreements.
The centerpiece of Lee's visit to Paris was his agreement with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to step up joint efforts to help the G-20 economic forum to deliver its commitment to bring stability to the world economy, including fighting speculation in food and energy markets.
South Korea and France are part of the G-20 "Troika" that comprises the past, present and future chairs of the grouping. South Korea chaired a G-20 summit last year, and France is to host this year's meeting in Cannes in November.
Lee and Sarkozy also agreed to help this year's G-20 meeting to produce results that will "ensure a strong, sustainable and balanced growth" and called for greater oversight of the financial sector, especially the shadow banking system and the commodity derivatives markets.
PARIS (Yonhap) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak used his weeklong European tour to demonstrate his unwavering commitment to unification with North Korea and make a strong pitch for his global initiative for "green growth" and trade and investment with the region.
The highlight of the trip to Germany, Denmark and France was South Korea's launch of a "Green Growth Alliance" with Copenhagen that calls for cooperation in environment-friendly technologies for a joint foray into foreign markets for green products and services.
The alliance will be a win-win and mutually beneficial partnership that combines Denmark's leading green growth technologies with South Korea's fast-growing environment-friendly technologies and powerful high-tech manufacturing skills, officials said.
A top global leader in green growth, Denmark has aggressively pushed for development of environment-friendly technologies, with a vision known as "Energy Strategy 2050," to end its reliance on fossil fuels by 2050. The country has the No. 1 market share in the world's wind power market.
Under Lee's drive, South Korea has also actively pursued green growth, seeing the area as a fresh engine for its economic growth. The country's renewable energy sector grew six times in just three years while making big progress in such areas as electric vehicles and energy-efficient lighting.
In the first joint step under the green alliance, the governments and leading companies of the two sides signed a total of nine memoranda of understanding, vowing to cooperate closely in such areas as renewable energy, smart grid electricity, hydrogen vehicles, wind power and fuel cells.
During Lee's stay, the South Korean-led the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) opened its first overseas office in Copenhagen with the aim of developing it into an international organization.
Lee set up the institute last year to study green growth strategies and policies and provide relevant knowhow to developing nations.
In Berlin, the symbolic city of German unification, North Korea was a major topic. Lee repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing the divided Korean states together, saying unification is "not a matter of choice but a must" that should be sought at any cost because it will provide the Korean people with a springboard to prosperity.
Lee urged Pyongyang to give up its nuclear programs, saying that a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is an important first step for unification. He stressed South Korea should also be well prepared to become one nation with the destitute North, apparently referring to the massive unification cost Seoul has to shoulder.
After summit talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lee offered to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to next year's Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul if Pyongyang makes a firm commitment to forsake its nuclear ambitions.
Chances of North Korea accepting the offer are low, and the invitation proposal was seen as more aimed at pressuring the North to make a strategic choice to give up its nuclear ambitions and break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations.
The proposal was also seen as aimed at demonstrating that Seoul is always open to dialogue and want rapprochement with the communist nation amid accusations from critics that his administration is taking too hard a line on the North.
In Pyongyang's first reaction, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland denounced Lee's offer as "ridiculous" and an attempt to disarm and invade the communist nation jointly with the U.S.
But Lee said he does not consider it an official reaction.
Lee's trademark "sales diplomacy" was the underlying theme in the European tour, which came right after South Korea's parliament ratified a free trade agreement with the European Union.
South Korea is the first Asian nation to sign a free trade agreement with the EU.
In every stop of the trip, Lee used the trade accord, set to take effect in July, to make a case for expanding trade and investment. He told government and business leaders in all three nations that South Korea can serve as a stepping stone for their expansion to other foreign markets linked to South Korea via free trade agreements.
The centerpiece of Lee's visit to Paris was his agreement with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to step up joint efforts to help the G-20 economic forum to deliver its commitment to bring stability to the world economy, including fighting speculation in food and energy markets.
South Korea and France are part of the G-20 "Troika" that comprises the past, present and future chairs of the grouping. South Korea chaired a G-20 summit last year, and France is to host this year's meeting in Cannes in November.
Lee and Sarkozy also agreed to help this year's G-20 meeting to produce results that will "ensure a strong, sustainable and balanced growth" and called for greater oversight of the financial sector, especially the shadow banking system and the commodity derivatives markets.
