Korea’s new president holds relay talks with leaders at G7, launching summit diplomacy

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Korea’s new president holds relay talks with leaders at G7, launching summit diplomacy

Published: 18 Jun. 2025, 07:35 Updated: 18 Jun. 2025, 18:02

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center left, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after taking a group photo with the leaders of the G7 and invited countries at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada on June 17, [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

KANANASKIS, Canada — Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a series of bilateral talks on the margins of the Group of 7 (G7) summit in the Canadian resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, on Tuesday, signaling Korea's return to global diplomacy and commitment to playing its necessary role in the international community.

Despite a canceled planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who made an early exit from the G7 summit the previous night, Lee met bilaterally with leaders of countries including India, Britain, Mexico, Brazil and Canada. The meetings became between a welcome ceremony and a group photo session ahead of the G7 expanded session.

During the meeting with Indian President Narendra Modi, Lee expressed his deepest condolences to the victims of the deadly Air India crash last week, their families and the Indian people.

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, chats with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they head into their bilateral summit at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada on June 17, [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee expressed his hope that Korea and India could take their relationship to a new level through strategic cooperation and deepening relations as the two countries mark the 10th anniversary of their special strategic partnership. Modi expressed his gratitude for Lee's condolences and expressed his hope that the two countries would further expand close cooperation.

Lee conveyed his delight that some 550 Korean companies have invested and advanced into India, contributing to the growth of India's manufacturing industry and the promotion of domestic demand and exports.

He also expressed his hopes that the two countries would further expand high-level communication, mutually beneficial economic cooperation, strategic cooperation in key technologies, national defense and the defense industry, and cultural cooperation to elevate bilateral relations to a new level.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Korea and India. Modi expressed his hopes that Lee would visit India soon, and Lee expressed his gratitude for the invitation.

President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada on June 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In his meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Lee expressed his hope for more progress in ongoing negotiations to revise a bilateral FTA. Since last year, Korea and Britain have been holding talks to enhance the FTA, which took effect at the beginning of 2021, after Britain's exit from the European Union.

Starmer called to strengthen cooperation with Korea in areas such as the economy, security and defense. He thanked South Korea for supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The two sides agreed to expedite the ongoing FTA enhancement negotiations to increase trade and investment between the two countries and expand cooperation in new areas such as digital and supply chains, Lee’s office said. They further called for joint efforts in climate change response and discussed ways to cooperate in areas such as clean energy.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo hold bilateral talks on the margins of the G7 summit in Kananaskis in Canada on June 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In their meeting, Lee and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo agreed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation based on the strategic partnership between the two countries, the presidential office said.

Calling for strengthening cooperation in the economy and other sectors, Lee recalled that Mexico was the first Latin American country to establish a strategic partnership with Korea and was Korea's largest trading partner in Latin America. Sheinbaum lauded the active investments made by Korean companies in Mexico and expressed her expectations for expanded cooperation with Korea in areas such as advanced technology.

Lee invited Sheinbaum to the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, to which the Mexican leader expressed her gratitude for the invitation and wished for the successful hosting of the APEC Summit.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, holds a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada on June 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee, in talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, noted Brazil's strengthening of its status as a key country of the Global South and emphasized Korea's will to expand economic cooperation with Brazil, its largest trading and investment partner in South America.

The two leaders reaffirmed the need for cooperation on global issues such as climate change response and agreed to further develop the comprehensive cooperative partnership.

President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 summit in Kananaskis in Canada on June 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In their talks, Lee and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted the remarkable progress that Korea and Canada have made in various fields as comprehensive strategic partners and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in fields such as security and defense industry, energy security, climate change and AI.

Carney said that he was aware of Korea’s defense industry capabilities and suggested regional and global security cooperation in the future, the presidential office said. This comes as Korea has sought to deepen security and defense industry cooperation with Canada, a longtime ally and global partner, including through participation in the Canadian submarine project.

The two leaders shared their assessments of the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, Lee’s office said. They expressed “grave concern” over the recent worsening of the situation in the Middle East and expressed hope for a speedy easing of tensions in the region.

Lee thanked Carney for his invitation to the summit and stressed that Korea will work to meet the international community’s expectations.

Earlier, Lee met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and promised that the Korean government would provide support and play the necessary role so that the United Nations could contribute to international peace and prosperity, the presidential office said in a statement.

Lee stressed that solidarity in the international community centered on the UN is essential in times of complex crises.

Guterres, in turn, said he highly evaluated Korea's contributions in international peace and security, human rights, sustainable development and climate change response. He further asked for Korea's continued role in resolving common challenges facing the global community based on multilateral cooperation, Lee's office said.

Lee and Guterres pledged to continue developing the special relationship between Korea and the United Nations and promised close communication and cooperation.

Lee also met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, noting that this year marks the 15th anniversary of establishing the Korea-EU strategic partnership and calling to deepen cooperation in the economy and security.

The EU leaders said that the European Union considers its relationship with Korea, a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region, important, and agreed to continue communicating in the future, Lee’s office said.

On Monday, Lee also met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]