Latvia premier asks Seoul for pointers on financial crisis

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Hit by a financial crisis similar to the one that
struck South Korea a decade ago, Latvia on Tuesday asked Seoul to share its
experience in overcoming the crisis, South Korea's presidential office said.
The request came at a meeting between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and
the visiting prime minister of the Baltic nation, Ivars Godmanis, according to
the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
"Prime Minister Godmanis expressed hope to expand cooperation between the two
countries. Furthermore, the prime minister asked that Seoul share its experience
in overcoming the financial crisis in such a short period of time to help Latvia,
which is now under emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Lee promised full support, welcoming Godmanis, who was the first prime minister
of Latvia to visit South Korea since the two countries established diplomatic
ties in 1991, it said.
Seoul was placed under IMF assistance and monitoring in late 1997 after it was
hit by a foreign exchange crisis that also dealt serious blows to most of other
major economies in the region. The country, however, paid back all its relief
funds, becoming one of the first nations to beat the slump that continued for
years for other countries.
The Latvian prime minister arrived here Sunday on a four-day visit.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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