Dutch PM to visit South Korea next week

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will pay an official visit to South Korea from April 28 to 29, at the invitation of South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, the presidential office said Wednesday.

During his two-day visit, Balkenende will seek ways to increase trade and investment between the two countries, while discussing cooperative measures in the renewable energy sector as well as South Korea-European Union (EU) relations, South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.

The two leaders will also review security issues of the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asia region, and share thoughts on the global economic downturn, climate change, and other related global issues, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The presidential office added that Balkenende will attend a CEO roundtable discussion, receive an honorary doctorate degree from Yonsei University, and visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ), while also making an on-site visit to the shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries Co., who signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility last month.

Balkenende's visit will mark his first trip to South Korea since taking office in 2002.

Source: Xinhua