President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Singapore, will hold his second summit since taking office with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on the 2nd (local time).
In the morning, at the Singapore government complex, the president will hold a summit, attend a friendship luncheon, and give a joint press statement, discussing with Wong ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in advanced fields including artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear power.
Before the talks, the president will attend an "orchid naming ceremony," a diplomatic tradition in Singapore, which has the orchid as its national flower, where a newly cultivated orchid species is named after a guest of honor. An official welcome ceremony and state banquet with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, as well as a meeting with President Tharman, are also planned.
After the summit, the president and Wong will sign memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between the two countries and jointly brief the press on the outcome of their talks. The joint press statement will include that Korea and Singapore agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade their free trade agreement (FTA).
Five MOUs will be signed in AI, small modular reactors (SMRs), and the digital and science and technology sectors. The president will also attend in person the "AI Connect Summit," where future leaders in AI from both countries will gather to seek joint development.
The plan is to boost the AI capabilities of the Korean government and corporations by expanding exchanges with Singapore, a leading AI power in Asia. Singapore ranked No. 1 in the "2024 Artificial Intelligence Preparedness Index" (AIPI), which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quantitatively evaluated and released to measure countries' readiness for AI.
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung of the presidential office said, "Through the summit, we expect to further solidify existing cooperation in trade, investment, and infrastructure, while expanding the scope of cooperation into promising future fields such as AI and nuclear power."