(LEAD) Yoon revs up efforts to promote Expo bid in back-to-back New York summits

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso during a summit in New York on Sept. 21, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Saint Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Terrance Drew during a summit in New York on Sept. 21, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Keon Hee (L), wife of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L), tells Leticia Ocampos (2nd from R), wife of Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, about a scented candle that she has made, during their talks over a luncheon in New York on Sept. 21, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry during their talks in New York on Sept. 21, 2023. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Yoon-bilateral summits

(LEAD) Yoon revs up efforts to promote Expo bid in back-to-back New York summits

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional summits; ADDS photos)

By Song Sang-ho and Lee Haye-ah

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON/SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol held another round of back-to-back summits with world leaders in New York on Thursday as he ramped up his push to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

Since his arrival in New York on Monday to attend the U.N. General Assembly, Yoon has held dozens of two-way summits in a last-ditch effort for the Expo bid.

In a morning summit, Yoon met with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and said that bilateral talks on the signing of a strategic economic cooperation agreement have been proceeding smoothly, according to his office.

Lasso said that the agreement would serve as an opportunity to expand cooperation in bilateral trade, investment and supply chains.

Yoon also asked for Ecuador's interest and support for the state-run Korea Expressway Corp.'s participation in a project to construct a highway linking three cities in Ecuador.

Later in the day, Yoon met with Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew.

Yoon asked the island nation to play a role to help expand cooperation between South Korea and the eastern Caribbean region as the country chairs the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States this year.

Drew expressed his expectation that the two countries' cooperation will deepen in the medical sector.

Yoon hosted a luncheon for Paraguayan President Santiago Pena and his wife, saying he hopes the two countries will work together to produce mutually beneficial results in negotiations for a free trade agreement between South Korea and Mercosur, a trade bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Pena noted his administration's push for the construction of a light railway in Asuncion and expressed hope the project will serve as a turning point for increased economic cooperation between the two countries.

During a meeting with President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Yoon called for close cooperation to promote the two countries' common values as both nations will serve as nonpermanent members of the U.N. Security Council from 2024-25.

Bio thanked South Korea for its assistance in the construction of City Hall in Sierra Leone's capital of Freetown, and expressed hope for deeper bilateral relations in education and other fields.

Yoon also met with North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski and voiced hope for further cooperation in the auto parts industry, where the Balkan country has a competitive edge.

In a meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, he shared plans to continue to help Nepal's economic and social development through infrastructure projects, while in a meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, he asked for special attention to an ongoing project to establish a rare metals cooperation center between the two countries.

Yoon also met with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau and called for further cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, development and health.

During a summit with Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, he expressed hope for South Korean companies' participation in a planned nuclear power plant construction project in the European country, while in a meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, he discussed cooperation on maintaining public safety in Haiti, and expressed his wish to continue to contribute to its social and economic development.

(END)

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