ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Seoul on a 3-day official visit at the invitation of Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, says a press release issued here on Tuesday. President Zardari held detailed talks with the Korean President on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He also interacted with the Korean corporate leaders and the business community.
President Zardari invited Korean investors to invest in Pakistan in diverse areas ranging from energy to agriculture. He offered the setting up of a dedicated Special Economic Zone for Korean investors in Pakistan. The two Presidents expressed satisfaction over the volume of bilateral trade that had crossed $1.5 billion in 2011 and agreed to set a target of $5 billion in the next five years. President Zardari proposed to the Government of Korea to sign a Free Trade Agreement and a Currency Swap Agreement to give the much-needed impetus to their trade and economic cooperation, in the long-term.
The two Presidents expressed satisfaction over the current state of bilateral relations and underscored their desire to raise them to a higher level through joint efforts. They pledged to continue cooperation at the regional and international forums to tackle many challenges confronting the world today.
The leaders exchanged views on the regional issues, especially the situation in Afghanistan and the Korean Peninsula. President Lee Myung-bak underscored Pakistan's important role in the context of peace and stability in Afghanistan and lauded its support for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders further agreed to promote cooperation in a number of areas such as manufacturing, finance, transport, education, and culture. Pakistan offered to meet Korea's additional manpower needs in various sectors.
President Zardari expressed gratitude for Korea's generous assistance to Pakistan following natural disasters in the country. During the President's visit, 9 agreements/MoUs were signed between the two sides. President Zardari was accompanied, among others, by Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Minister of Commerce, Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Fahim, Minister of Water and Power, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan and a large delegation of businessmen. President Zardari will depart for Islamabad today (Wednesday).
APP adds: Pakistan and Korea inked six agreements dealing with modernisation of Pakistan Railways, construction of LNG terminal, and cooperation in banking sector, in a bid to further strengthened their bilateral ties. The signing of agreements in various sectors came during President Asif Ali Zardari's state visit to the Republic of Korea, during which he met his counterpart and had several meetings with the CEO's and heads of various top companies.
President Zardari who witnessed the signing of almost all the Memorandums of Understanding urged the Korean investors to benefit from Pakistan's generous incentives. Korean counterpart Myung-bak Lee also witnessed the signing of two accords at the President's Office. A major breakthrough came in the area of modernisation of Railways. Pakistan, under the agreement, will seek high speed railways, communication systems, signalling, rail stock, modernisation of operation and management, development of logistics parks and freight terminals, exchange of construction and maintenance technologies for infrastructure including tracks, bridges, overhead electrification and power supply systems.
The agreement was signed by Muhammad Arif Azim Secretary Railways and Minister of Railways of South Korea Kwon Do-youp. President KORAIL assured President Zardari that his company was willing to share its experiences and expertise with Pakistan Railways and help it develop on modern lines.
The President later witnessed the inking of a MoU under which Pakistan will be able to acquire used diesel locomotives and work for modernisation, maintenance, operation and training of existing ones. President Zardari during his meeting with the President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung C&T said Pakistan needs to augment its energy resources to meet the growing demand of its industrial and domestic requirements. The President said Pakistan was looking forward to import of LNG to meet the demand.
Under an agreement between Samsung C&T and the Board of Investment of Pakistan an off-shore floating LNG Receiving Terminal will be established. The two countries also inked a MoU for enhanced cooperation in the field of culture, films, sports and tourism.
Under the framework agreement on grant aid Korea will extend support to Pakistan through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and was aimed at poverty reduction, sustainable economic and social development besides further enhancing cooperation in diverse development sectors. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the South Korean investment giants to assist in the construction of Bhasha Dam project and said there were huge opportunities and potential to invest in Pakistan's energy and power sector.
Addressing a dinner co-hosted by heads of four major business associations, including Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Federation of Korean Industries, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business here at the local hotel, the President said that in view of power shortage.