Korea, Romania agree on strategic partnership By Yoo Cheong-mo

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) - President Lee Myung-bak and his visiting Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu agreed at a summit Thursday to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and expand practical economic and diplomatic cooperation, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.

Basescu arrived here Wednesday for a two-day state visit. The ongoing visit marks
Basescu's second trip to South Korea following his first in October 2005.

Following an hour-long summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee and Basescu adopted a joint
declaration on the formation of a strategic partnership between the two
countries.

"The two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation in Romania's planned expansion
of social, energy and information technology infrastructures," Cheong Wa Dae
said in a statement.

"Specifically, Lee asked for Basescu's support for South Korean enterprises
seeking to participate in Romania's atomic power plant and container port
construction projects. In response, the Romanian leader welcomed Korean
companies' participation in his country's infrastructure projects," said the
statement.

Romania, a southeastern European country which joined the EU in January 2007, is
now pushing to introduce LNG from the Middle East, and South Korean companies are
seeking to participate in Romania's expected construction of an LNG terminal.

Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, made a state visit to Romania in September 2006.
South Korea and Romania established diplomatic ties in 1990.