▲ President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife arrive at New York's JFK Airport


President Yoon Suk-yeol began a series of bilateral talks shortly after arriving in New York, United States, to attend the United Nations General Assembly on the morning of the 18th (local time).

In order to expand support for the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo, we planned a march to meet with the heads of state of nearly 10 countries on this day alone.

The first country to meet was Sri Lanka.

President Yoon held his first summit meeting since taking office with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasingha this afternoon, asking him to support the Busan Expo and exchanging views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon said, "We look forward to working with Sri Lanka, a key partner in development cooperation, with the goal of a long-term partnership in the fields of development cooperation, labor, climate change response, and trade and investment."

He said, "We will continue to discover cooperative projects that contribute to the creation of jobs for young people, such as the 'Korea-Sri Lanka Central Vocational Training Institute.'"

In response, President Wickramasingha said, "Sri Lankans who have been trained in Korea are working in their homeland as high-skilled and high-quality laborers," adding, "I hope that the 'Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement' with Korea will be pursued in the future to promote more active trade and investment between the two countries."

The two heads of state agreed to sign the Korea-Sri Lanka Climate Change Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible, which is currently under discussion.

President Yoon then held a summit meeting with Consuls Scarano and Tony of San Marino.

Inheriting the tradition of the ancient Roman republic, the consul is a symbolic head of state.

San Marino is a landlocked Italian country with a population of just over 3,3 people, but as a member of the International Exhibition Organization (BIE), it has the right to vote on where to host the Expo.

During his six-day, four-night visit to the United States, President Yoon will meet with the heads of at least 4 BIE member countries to appeal for the Busan Expo.

(Photo=Yonhap News)