President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung on Nov. 17 say bye before boarding the presidential plane Code One at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, on their visits to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, South Africa, where they will attend the G20 summit of leading economies, and Turkiye (Turkey). (Lee Jeongwoo)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong

President Lee Jae Myung on Nov. 17 departed for visits to four countries in the Middle East and Africa on the occasion of the G20 summit of leading economies.

Over 10 days, he will conduct summit diplomacy through a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Nov. 17-19, official trip to Egypt from Nov. 19-21, attendance at the G20 summit in South Africa from Nov. 21-23 and state visit to Turkiye (Turkey) from Nov. 24-25.

First in the UAE, President Lee will arrive in the afternoon for a three-day state visit. He will attend a summit with UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and the defense industry.

On Nov. 19, President Lee will fly to Egypt for a three-day official trip. The next day, he will hold talks with Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and present Seoul's vision for Middle Eastern policy at Cairo University.

From Nov. 22-23 in Johannesburg, South Africa, President Lee will attend three sessions of the G20 summit to discuss inclusive and sustainable growth, climate change and disasters, and a just future. A meeting with the leaders of MIKTA, a consultative group of five middle powers led by Korea and comprising Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkiye and Australia, is also scheduled.

At his final destination in Turkiye, President Lee will hold a summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to mark the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, a conflict that nearly 15,000 Turkish troops took part in. President Lee will also sign an MOU on raising bilateral cooperation in defense, nuclear power and bio before returning home.

dusrud21@korea.kr