Korean President Moon Jae-in (Photo: Yonhap) Seoul (VNA) – Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in was to leave for Singapore on November 13 for annual summits with ASEANnations and their dialogue partners as he strives to bolster relations with theregion and drum up international support for his initiative for peace with theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
During thethree-day visit to Singapore, Moon is scheduled to attend three annual summitshosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely the 20th Republicof Korea-ASEAN Summit, the 21st ASEAN Plus Three Summit also involving Chinaand Japan, and the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS).
While inSingapore, Moon also plans to attend regional free trade talks, known as theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), involving the 10 ASEANnations, the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, Japan, Australia, India and NewZealand, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
The KoreanPresident is expected to propose holding a special RoK-ASEAN summit next yearto further solidify relations with the Southeast Asian nations under his"new southward policy."
He is alsoscheduled to host a separate summit between the RoK and the Mekong Rivercountries of Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
Singaporeis the first leg of Moon's six-day trip that will also take him to Papua NewGuinea where he will attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 17and 18.
During theAPEC meeting, Moon plans to outline his vision for an innovative and inclusivenation and propose creating a joint fund, the APEC Digital Innovation Fund,aimed at improving the region's digital capabilities.
On thesidelines of the ASEAN and APEC summits, Moon also plans to hold a series ofone-on-one meetings with other world leaders, including Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, US Vice President Mike Pence, Chinese President Xi Jinping andAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The RoK’sleader is expected to use these bilateral meetings to exchange information on theDPRK’s denuclearization negotiations and ask for support to move the peaceefforts forward.-VNA
VNA
