President Lee Jae Myung (right) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung on Jan. 13 wave to well-wishers before departing for Japan at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province. (Lee Jeongwoo)

By Yoon Sojung

President Lee Jae Myung from March 1-4 will pay state visits to Singapore and the Philippines, Cheong Wa Dae said on Feb. 27.

Domestic media said presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung released the schedule of both trips in a written briefing.

From March 1-3, President Lee will visit Singapore to attend a summit with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, followed by a meeting with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and a state dinner. 

President Lee will attend the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Connect Summit hosted by both countries for talks with future AI leaders.

Spokesperson Kang said, "We hope that the summit is an opportunity to solidify cooperation in sectors like trade, investment and infrastructure and also widen the scope of collaboration to promising future fields such as AI and nuclear power."

From March 3-4, President Lee will visit Manila for talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and a state dinner. The first day of the summit, March 3, marks the 77th anniversary of diplomatic ties, adding meaning to this trip. 

President Lee will also attend a business forum with entrepreneurs from both countries.

Cheong Wa Dae plans to further bolster cooperation in sectors like the defense industry, infrastructure and trade and strengthen the basis for ties in futuristic sectors such as nuclear energy, shipbuilding, core minerals and AI.

The spokesperson said, "The consecutive visits to the Philippines, this year's ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) chair, and Singapore, next year's chair, will be an important opportunity to contribute to solidifying and fully implementing the vision for development of the Korea-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership presented last year by President Lee at the bilateral summit with ASEAN."

arete@korea.kr