South Korean President Park Geun-hye plans to visit Saudi Arabia and three other Middle Eastern countries next month to discuss energy and security issues with their heads of state, the presidential office said Sunday.
The nine-day trip to the Middle East, starting on March 1, will take Park first to Kuwait and then Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. It will be Park's first visit abroad this year.
"During the Middle East visits, President Park plans to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation as well as the security situations on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East region," the presidential office said in a statement. "(These visits) are meant to expand the Park Geun-hye government's diplomatic landscape out to the Middle East region."
The forthcoming visits will provide an opportunity for South Korea to capitalize on the so-called "second Middle East boom" in better implementing the local three-year economic reform plan as well as excavating a new economic growth engine, the presidential office also said.
On her first leg of the four-nation trip, Park will hold a summit meeting with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to discuss ways to increase bilateral cooperation in the sectors of energy, construction, railroad, health and communication technology, according to the presidential office.
The leaders also plans to delve into the security situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as ways to secure peace and security in the Middle East region, it also noted.
Park will then fly to Saudi Arabia on April 3 for a two-day visit that will include a meeting with newly-crowned King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Park and Salman plan to go into how bilateral collaboration can be expanded in the similar fields of energy, construction and communication technology as well as on diplomatic and safety issues, according to the presidential office.
Park's itinerary in Saudi Arabia will also include meetings with key king families and economic and cultural events there.
On April 4, Park is scheduled to move to the UAE to meet with Mohammed bin Zayed bin Al Nahyan, prince crown of Abu Dhabi, before landing on the final leg of the visit, Qatar, on April 6.
Park's planned meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani was arranged in return for the Qatari leader's visit to South Korea last November.
During the Qatar visit, Park plans to attend a set of cultural and economic events to mark the 40th anniversary of bilateral ties and express her plans to further expand bilateral relations before returning home on April 9, the office noted. (Yonhap)
