S. Korean premier visits Middle East over energy cooperation

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's prime minister will travel to the Middle East Thursday to discuss energy cooperation and enhanced economic ties, officials here said.
Resource-poor South Korea is the world's fifth-biggest oil importer, with annual
purchases reaching around 900 million barrels. More than 80 percent of the energy
is provided by the Middle East.
Visiting Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo will make a keynote speech at the Doha development conference,
expressing South Korea's willingness to expand official assistance to
underdeveloped countries. About 150 high-ranking officials, including King
Abdullah II of Jordan and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, will be attending the
meeting along with Han.
The South Korean prime minister will meet Qatari King Hamad Khalifa and Prime
Minister Hamad Jassim to discuss cooperation in the liquefied natural gas and
construction sectors.
Han also plans to meet U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean
foreign minister, and with World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy
and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary-General Angel
Gurria.
Han's visit to the Middle East comes as part of Seoul's so-called "energy
diplomacy," a flagship policy of the market-oriented Lee Myung-bak administration
inaugurated in February.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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