President Lee Myung-bak had a summit with German President Horst Koehler, who is on a four-day state visit to Korea from Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae said that the two presidents promised to further strengthen bilateral ties while reflecting upon their countries' cooperative relations to date.

During the summit, the leaders touched on the two countries' similar historical experiences of going through a war which resulted in the country's division and rising above the devastation to achieve economic development. Lee said Germany's experience of reunifying can be a reference for the two Koreas.

President Lee Myung-bak (right) and German President Horst Koehler

Marking the 20th anniversary of Germany's reunification, Koehler said he is ready to share his country's experience while highlighting the possibility of a Korean reunification taking place sooner than expected. Cheong Wa Dae said Lee emphasized the need for thorough preparation for such a scenario, citing the economic impact reunification would have.

Lee also called for Germany's support for the G20 summit Korea will host in November. Koehler, who served as chief of the International Monetary Fund, praised Korea's role in leading the gathering and promised to work toward building new global governance with Korea.

The two leaders also had an in-depth discussion on putting the Korea-EU trade agreement into effect and developing renewable energy and green technologies. Korea is Germany's third most important trading partner in Asia after China and Japan, while Germany is Korea's biggest trade partner in Europe. German-Korean trade totaled US$20 billion last year.