President Lee Jae-myung (right) on June 17 poses for photos with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Group of Seven Summit in Kananaskis of Canada's Alberta province.

By Kim Hyelin

Photos =Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung on June 17 engaged in a flurry of bilateral summit diplomacy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada.

In their talks in Kananaskis, located in the Canadian province of Alberta, he and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to advance their diplomatic bilateral ties "in a more mature and future-oriented manner" to mark the 60th anniversary of normalizing bilateral relations this year.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of two-way cooperation amid a changing strategic environment and said they will bolster practical collaboration in sectors like economy and culture. They also decided to maintain and develop trilateral cooperation with the U.S. to respond to regional security issues including North Korea, as well as continue negotiations on resuming shuttle diplomacy between Seoul and Tokyo.

Before this summit, President Lee held a brief meeting with United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and mentioned the resilience of Korean democracy. The U.N. chief in response proposed that President Lee explain this at the U.N. General Assembly in September.

In his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Lee urged stronger bilateral cooperation in all sectors including economy, national defense, core technologies and culture to mark the 10th anniversary of the special strategic partnership between the two countries. Both leaders also agreed to stimulate high-level communication and upgrade diplomatic ties to a new level.

President Lee later held talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, proposing stronger cooperation in sectors such as advanced technology given that Mexico is Korea's largest trading partner in Central and South America.

President Sheinbaum lauded brisk corporate investment in her country by Korean companies and pledged to continue cooperation based on their strategic partnership.

In addition, President Lee also held successive summits with the leaders of Brazil, Canada, the U.K. and the European Union on boosting multilateral cooperation.

President Lee Jae-myung (fifth from left in second row) on June 17 poses for a group photo with the leaders of G7 member states and invited countries in Kananaskis, located in Canada's Alberta province.