S Korean president meets IMF head

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met on Wednesday with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, who is in the country for a conference.

The president noted IMF's contribution to establishing a global financial safety net and restructuring financial regulations, which are part of the main agenda of the upcoming G20 summit in Seoul among the world's major economic powerhouses.

The managing director of the IMF attended the two-day conference, titled "Asia 21: Leading the Way Forward," which was concluded Tuesday in Daejon, south of Seoul, where the IMF cast new light on roles of Asian countries in the wake of the financial crisis.

The official said the conference, jointly held by South Korea' s finance ministry and the IMF, has strengthened partnership between the two sides.

South Korea underwent rigid financial structural reforms imposed by the IMF during the 1997-98 financial crisis that swept Asian countries.

Source: Xinhua