President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to embark on his first overseas trip of 2019 for seven days March 10-16 to make state visits to Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia.
His itinerary begins with a visit to Brunei March 10-12 during which President Moon will hold a summit with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The President will also consult with Brunei, the current Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Korea Dialogue Relations, to enhance Korea-ASEAN cooperation in part through the successful hosting of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit.
From March 12 to 14, the President will visit Malaysia where he will sit down together with Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad to review the progress made thus far in cooperative ties between the two nations in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year. They will also discuss concrete measures to strengthen forward-looking cooperation.
On the last leg of his trip, President Moon will make a visit to Cambodia March 14-16 and meet with King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen to exchange ideas on how to expand substantive cooperation for the two countries’ mutual prosperity.
Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia are important cooperation partners of the New Southern Policy, one of the top priorities of the Korean Government. President Moon’s visits are expected to strengthen substantive, friendly and cooperative relations at a bilateral level with the respective countries.
In addition, the visits will likely help create the foundation for a people-centered community of peace and prosperity in their respective regions in cooperation with ASEAN, a linchpin of the New Southern Policy. It is also expected to reinforce the basis of cooperation for the successful hosting of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, which is to be held in Korea in the latter half of this year.