Irish profile in Asia to be raised, says Taoiseach

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has pledged that Ireland will continue to enhance its links with Asia under the Government's Asia Strategy…

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has pledged that Ireland will continue to enhance its links with Asia under the Government's Asia Strategy, which has already resulted in a significant increase in diplomatic representation in the region.

"Our Asia Strategy has two principal objectives," Mr Ahern told a luncheon in Seoul on Saturday attended by leaders of South Korea's business and academic community.

These are "to improve our political and business contacts, and to raise awareness throughout Asia of Ireland as a competitive source of high-quality goods and services.

"The maturing relationship between Ireland and Asia is partly a natural consequence of the continuing success and growth of the Irish economy over the last decade," he said.

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The Asia Strategy was adopted by an inter-department committee after Mr Ahern visited China in 1998. It resulted in a new embassy in Singapore and consulates in Shanghai and Sydney, as well as an increase in Enterprise Ireland's role in the region.

Earlier, Mr Ahern joined with European and Asian leaders at the end of the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in passing a resolution to work together to push forward trade liberalisation, fight international crime and narrow the "digital divide" between rich and poor countries' access to new technologies.

The two-day summit also supported the policy of reconciliation on the Korean peninsula and adopted for the first time a specific commitment to protect human rights, a divisive issue between East and West.

Before leaving for home on Saturday, Mr Ahern held separate bilateral meetings with China's Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, and South Korea's President, Mr Kim Dae-jung.

In his speech the Taoiseach appealed to South Korean companies not already involved in Ireland to "look carefully at the competitive advantages which Ireland can offer, especially as an English-speaking country and a member state of the European Union."

He said Ireland was already one of the most successful EU trading partners for its size with South Korea, and that trade between the two countries would amount to $1 billion this year.