Korea, Australia agree to cooperate at Group of 20 summit

By Yoo Cheong-mo

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd held telephone talks on Thursday and agreed to deepen their policy cooperation in fighting the global financial crisis in a preemptive way, Lee's spokesman said.

Lee and Rudd, both members of the Group of 20 financial summit scheduled to take
place in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, also agreed to join forces to prevent the
spread of the economic crisis and promote closer international cooperation in
staving off a recession in the real economy.
"Lee talked to Rudd by phone for 13 minutes Thursday morning and they agreed to
closely cooperate at the upcoming Group of 20 summit," presidential spokesman Lee
Dong-kwan said.
"The two leaders also agreed to make joint efforts to prevent the return of
protectionist trade policies worldwide."
Lee is scheduled to leave Friday for the U.S. to attend the Group of 20 summit.
Lee and Rudd held summit talks in August in Seoul, where they agreed to upgrade
practical economic and commercial cooperation and open preparatory talks on a
two-way free trade agreement.