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한영미래포럼환영만찬사<영문>

  • 작성자 : 김진옥
  • 등록일 : 2009.06.16
  • 조회수 : 3546
Lord Kerr,
Dr. Park Jin,
Excellencies,
Distinguished members of the Korea-UK Forum for the Future,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to speak to you this evening at the closing dinner of the 17th Korea-UK Forum for the Future. Allow me to extend my warmest welcome to all of you, particularly to the British delegation who have travelled long distances to attend this year's Forum. Soja, my wife, and I are most delighted in welcoming such special guests to our residence.

Although it was with great regret that I could not personally participate in this year's Forum due to my previous engagement in Beijing, I was told that the discussions of the past two days were very productive and fruitful and that you were able to exchange views and ideas on a variety of issues spanning bilateral issues to global financial and economic cooperation as well as climate change and green growth. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to co-Presidents Lord Kerr and Dr. Park Jin for their excellent leadership and tireless efforts in making this year's forum a success. I also most warmly congratulate all of you on this year's successful meeting.

Since its creation back in 1993, the Korea-UK Forum for the Future has contributed greatly to the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding between our two countries as well as to bringing our two peoples closer. Indeed, I regard the Forum an important link in the chain of cooperation holding our two nations together and it was with great honor to have served for 11 years as its President on the Korean side until last year. I will always treasure my work with the Forum as well as with all of you.

My Lord,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Usually the dinner speech is short and has to be short; but tonight, as I missed the main meeting of the Forum and as I have a great personal interest in the activiites of the Forum, I would like to speak longer than usual. I hope you would excuse me for this.

I understand that Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan hosted a luncheon in your honor yesterday. As Foreign Minister, he most likely already briefed you on the ways to enhance Korea-UK relations. In my attempt not to bore you by more or less repeating Minister Yu's remarks, I would like to focus my remarks this evening on the two issues that have recently dominated the international agenda as well as this year's Forum: the world financial crisis and climate change.

The global financial crisis, triggered by the sub-prime mortgage meltdown in the US last year, has engulfed the world economy with its adverse effects taking hold in every corner of the globe. Governments around the world have been making various efforts to overcome the current crisis, but in today's globalized world, with its complex web of global networks, there is an inherent limit to the isolated efforts of individual countries.

Recognizing the importance of international cooperation in today's globalized world, governments of major economies came together at the G-20 Summit first in Washington, D.C. last November and then again in London in April this year to discuss ways to strengthen the international financial system and reverse the course of global economic stagnation.

In this process, the role of the United Kingdom, as a traditionally strong financial power, proved most valuable in not only eliciting the collective response of the European countries but also bringing the major economies of the world together by successfully hosting the G-20 Summit in London.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to pay tribute to tireless efforts of the UK government, under Prime Minister Gordon Brown's leadership, towards the on-going global efforts to revitalize the economy and restore growth.

As a member of the G-20 troika and the chair of the G-20 next year, Korea has also been taking an active role to harness international efforts for financial cooperation and market stabilization. In particular, Korea played a crucial role in eliciting agreements related to curbing trade and investment protectionism.

At the first G-20 Summit, President Lee Myung-bak proposed a set of measures aimed at holding back protectionism, which were later reflected in the statement. At the second summit, he argued that all protectionist moves made since the Washington Summit be rolled back. This proposal was also reflected in the joint communique, and it was touted as one of the exemplary achievements of the summit.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At this point where the international community has reached very significant agreements by overcoming self-interests of individual states, we need to bear in mind that actions speak louder than words. It is imperative that we spare no efforts to implement the measures agreed upon in the previous summits.

Last night, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 2009 Spring Membership Meeting of the Institute of International Finance. The title of my keynote speech was "Coping with Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned from Korean Experience."

The presence of the large numbers of global financial leaders in Beijing, compared to their near-absence at the Davos Forum in January, was an auspicious indication that the worst may be over in the global economy. Yet, many were of the cautious view that despite some positive signs indicating the end of the free fall, uncertainties continue to dominate the global market making decisions by governments and private companies all the more important at this critical juncture.

In this context, the successful holding of the third G-20 Summit in New York in September on the margins of the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to review the follow-up measures by the G20 member states and to devise further countermeasures against this economic hardship will be very crucial for an early recovery from the current financial crisis.

As members of the G-20 troika, Korea and Great Britain will have a truly vital role to play in the months ahead in managing the current international financial crisis. When I met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Davos in January, we agreed to work very closely. The two countries should work very closely in setting the agenda for the upcoming third summit in such important areas as promoting transparency, strengthening supervisory functions, securing a well-functioning financial system, ensuring international cooperation and giving thought to alternatives to the current international financial institutions. I sincerely hope that Korea and the UK will cooperate closely in the process of pulling the world out of the current crisis and look forward to your contributions in these efforts.

My Lord,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Another potential area for close cooperation between Korea and the UK is climate change, one of the most serious challenges facing humanity at this time. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and a wide range of other human activities have resulted in the extraordinary accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing melting glaciers, rising sea levels and more frequent and more severe water-related natural disasters.

As the world strives to respond to this seemingly insurmountable challenge, the year 2009 marks a critical juncture in our fight against climate change. In December this year in Copenhagen, the international community will gather at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to work out a new, post-2012 climate regime. Representatives from countries all around the world are now busy negotiating the details of a new climate architecture to be put in place. It is high time that humankind realized that its very survival now rests on the choice we make, the action we take.

As many of you are well aware, personally I have been heavily involved in the global issue of climate change and water. Before I was called back to public service in Korea last year, I served as Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Climate Change and still sit on the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation headed by the Prince of Orange. I am the Founding Chair of the UN High-level Expert Panel on Water and Disaster. Thus I have been continuously involved in dealing with air and water which I, as Professor of Economics, used to teach as "free good." Unfortunately, they are becoming no more "free" but scarcer everyday.

Travelling widely to urge the world leaders to proactively tackle these critical issues, I witnessed an increasing number of countries turning their focused attention toward these issues and developing appropriate responses in order to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Korea and the UK, have both been proactive in tackling this global issue and I look forward in establishing even deeper bonds of cooperation through the exchange of ideas for successful negotiations at the UNFCCC-organized meetings and conferences and sharing of technology.

I would also like to make note of the initiatives that Korea and the UK have taken to address the issue of climate change. As an example, the United Nations Association of the UK (UNA-UK) held a conference on climate change in London last April while the city of Seoul hosted the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit 2009 in May to discuss ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

President Lee Myung-bak, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea on August 15th last year, publicly proclaimed "Low Carbon, Green Growth" as Korea's new national vision. The new vision is now being translated into our national economic policy in the form of Green New Deal policy announced in early January.

In a nutshell, "low carbon, green growth" is a vision which aims to shift from the current paradigm of quantity-oriented and fossil-fuel dependent growth to a new paradigm of qualitative growth, green growth that involves the utilization of energy saving technology as well as of new and renewable energy sources.

As a country which is well placed to play a bridging role between the developed and developing countries, Korea looks forward to cooperating closely with the UK in building the Post-2012 climate regime for sustainable development. I believe that such collaboration will help us to effectively address climate change and facilitate our transition into a low carbon society.

My Lord,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This evening is yet another great occasion for all of us to reinforce our partnership in strengthening bilateral ties as well as in jointly tackling global challenges. It is also a celebrative evening for all of us to meet again with old friends, make new ones, and deepen our friendship. I sincerely hope that this will also be an enjoyable and happy evening enjoying good food. Unfortunately, we were informed today that you have been continuously treated to Chinese food and our menu tonight is Chinese food!

Dr. Min wanted us to change the menu. But it was too late. The residence has to be informed at least one full day before. Therefore, you have to suffer or endure with Chinese food tonight once again. If it is any consolation to you, I myself have also been eating Chinese food during the last two days.

Without much ado, I would now like to propose a toast. Please join me in a toast to HM Queen Elizabeth II and President Lee Myung-bak and to the continued good health, happiness and success of all of us here tonight.

Cheers! Thank you.