| Photo: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok arrived in Auckland on Tuesday for a visit to New Zealand. | ||
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Auckland on Tuesday morning to begin a 24-hour visit to New Zealand.
Lee will meet with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in Auckland on Tuesday to seek closer economic, security and cultural exchanges.
The two sides are also expected to talk about their free trade agreement during Lee's visit, according to media reports.
Key said South Korea is an important bilateral partner for New Zealand and is New Zealand's sixth largest export market.
The visit would provide an opportunity to discuss and sharpen the economic links between the two countries, Key added.
The two-way trade between South Korea and New Zealand was recorded at 1.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.
During the visit, Lee will also meet with New Zealand Governor-General Anand Satyanand, speak at a New Zealand-Korea economic forum and lay a wreath at the Auckland War Memorial. The South Korean president and New Zealand prime minister will meet Korean-born kiwi golfer Danny Lee on Tuesday evening.
New Zealand is the first leg of the South Korean president's three-nation tour which will also take him to Australia and Indonesia. He will fly to Sydney on Wednesday morning.
The South Korean president will announce his "new Asia initiative" during his seven-day tour to the three nations, said his spokesman earlier.
(Xinhua)
