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President Lee Myung-bak yesterday held a series of summits with Asian leaders in an effort to secure partnerships for resource development.

"The meetings were designed in pursuit of international partnerships for developing natural resources, as the president has a strong belief that such strategic ties will be critical for future economic advancement and globalization," Cheong Wa Dae officials said.

On his second day as president, Lee met with Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen of Cambodia, Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar.

Lee asked for the Cambodian leader's support for Korean firms operating there on construction or resource development contracts. Hun Sen called for more Korean investment in energy development projects.

In a subsequent summit with the Uzbekistan president, Lee expressed his support for the latest contracts signed between Korea and Uzbekistan on the joint development of a natural gas field and oil mines.

On Monday, a consortium led by Korea Gas Corp. signed a deal with Uzbekistan's state-run gas company to develop a large-scale natural gas field in Surgil, western Uzbekistan. The deal coincided with Lee's inauguration. Separately, Daewoo International inked an agreement to jointly develop oil mines, also in Uzbekistan.

In 2007, the two countries signed an agreement to establish a strategic partnership.

"The two leaders promised to further coordinate bilateral efforts on energy development," said Lee Dong-kwan, the presidential spokesman.

The president has vowed to exert diplomatic efforts to buttress external relations during his term. Under the motto of pursuing "creative pragmatism," Lee has said he would focus mainly on securing and reinforcing business partnerships in strategic areas of national interest.

In particular, the president has stressed the pursuit of joint energy development projects with neighbors rich in natural resources. Korea currently relies almost entirely on outside sources for fuel.

Lee raised such concerns during a meeting with Mongolian leader Nambaryn Enkhbayar, with whom the president promised to further efforts in other areas as well, such as information communications and bio-engineering.

Following the three summits, the president met several other foreign delegations.

Discussions on improving bilateral relations were held with delegation leaders, including Indonesian Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, former Japanese Democratic Party leader Naoto Kan and Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Umirzak Shukayev.

On Monday, Lee met Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for their first summit. He also held conferences with Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. All four are partners in the multi-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea.

Critics have said Lee will need to enlist even stronger support from the four countries if his plans to offer economic aid to North Korea in return for its abandoning of nuclear weapons are to be effective.

By Kim Ji-hyun

(jemmie@heraldm.com)