President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to visit Vladivostok, Russia, September 6-7, to attend the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum.

The Forum is an international meeting for the development of the Russian Far East, one of the top priorities of the Russian Government. President Moon will be attending the Forum as a guest of honor at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. His visit to Russia will be the first since he took office.

President Moon will arrive in Vladivostok on September 6 and begin his official itinerary with a one-on-one and an extended summit with President Putin followed by a joint press conference and a signing ceremony for key agreements and MOUs. Discussions at the Korea-Russian summit are expected to focus on how to promote substantive bilateral cooperation, including the development of the Russian Far East, and how to work together to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and settle peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Also on the first day, President Moon will hold a summit with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, which will be the first Korea-Mongolia summit following President Moon`s inauguration. During the summit, the two leaders are expected to exchange ideas as to how to promote bilateral relations and resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issue.

The next day the President will hold a luncheon with Koreans residing in Russia, ethnic Koreans, who are making significant contributions to the promotion of friendly ties between Seoul and Moscow, and Russian dignitaries.

In the afternoon, the President is scheduled to attend the plenary session of the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum. Through his address, the President will put forth his Administration`s new northern policy aimed at enhancing economic cooperation with Eurasian countries, including those in Northeast Asia, as well as his vision for promoting the Korea-Russia strategic cooperative partnership.

President Moon also plans to have a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but details of the schedule are still being coordinated between the two countries. 

President Moon’s first visit to Russia is expected to establish a relationship of friendship and trust between the leaders of the two countries. Building upon that, it is expected to foster substantive bilateral cooperation in the Russian Far East and the Maritime Province and, ultimately, solidify the foundation to lead in the development and prosperity of the entire Eurasian continent. Moreover, it is also expected to become an opportunity to create an external environment to elicit cooperation from related countries for the promotion of Korea’s new northern policy.