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President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have agreed on a preliminary meeting for a bilateral free trade agreement. According to Cheong Wa Dae, Lee and Rudd, in a meeting in Seoul, expressed appreciation of bilateral joint civilian research which forecasts positive effects from an FTA including increase in economic growth and surge in bilateral trade. They agreed to hold a preliminary meeting between the two governments to discuss the scope of the FTA and their respective expectations.
Lee asked for greater cooperation in energy and resource development and support for Korean enterprises in Australia. Rudd, in turn, asked for cooperation in LNG development.
After the summit, the two leaders watched Ahn Byong-man, minister of education, science and technology, and Australian Ambassador to Korea Peter Lowe sign a memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation, including mutual recognition of degrees and diplomas in elementary, secondary and vocational education, cooperation on expanded exchanges between educational administrators, researchers, teachers and students, and on joint lectures, research and publications.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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