President Lee Jae-myung (front row, fourth from left) poses for a group photo with G7 leaders and invited heads of state at the summit venue in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 17. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung continued his push for pragmatic, national interest–driven diplomacy during the G7 summit in Canada, holding a flurry of bilateral talks on June 17 with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Mexico, India, and Brazil.

Lee met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kananaskis and called for updates to the Korea–UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA). “I believe more progress is needed on revising our FTA,” Lee said, expressing hopes the summit would “further strengthen the cooperative relationship between our two countries.”

Prime Minister Starmer congratulated Lee on his inauguration and responded positively, saying, “I look forward to working with you and hope to build a strong partnership.” He also agreed on the need to modernize the bilateral FTA and expressed interest in deepening cooperation on defense and security. “That sounds great. Thank you,” Starmer said in response to Lee's FTA proposal.

President Lee Jae-myung (left) meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a Korea–UK summit on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, on June 17. / Source: Yonhap News

In a separate meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Lee highlighted Mexico’s status as Korea’s largest trading partner in Latin America and the first in the region to form a strategic partnership with Seoul. According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Lee also inquired about the status of Mexico’s tariff negotiations with the United States.

President Sheinbaum praised the role of Korean companies in Mexico, particularly Kia Motors, which operates a production facility in the country. She expressed strong interest in expanding bilateral cooperation in advanced technology sectors.

During a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Lee conveyed his condolences for a recent aircraft crash and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Korea–India “special strategic partnership.” Lee called for deeper collaboration and a full-spectrum upgrade of bilateral ties, aiming to take relations “to a new level.”

In his summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Lee explored ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and drew a personal connection. According to spokesperson Kang, Lee shared his own experience of overcoming hardship and political adversity, similar to Lula’s journey. Lee even recounted an incident from his youth when he injured his arm while working at a press machine during his factory job as a teenage laborer.

These back-to-back meetings underscored Lee’s focus on results-oriented foreign policy that advances Korea’s economic and strategic interests on the global stage.

ⓒ "젊은 파워, 모바일 넘버원 아시아투데이"