Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, held at his palace here on Monday evening a meeting with the South Korean Premier, Lee Hae-Chan.
At the outset of the meeting, Crown Prince Sultan welcomed the Korean Premier, noting the deep-rooted friendship between the two countries.
He hoped that such meetings and visits would be exchanged and repeated between the two countries.
Crown Prince Sultan expressed his appreciation for the Korean Premier for his coming to offer condolences on the sad demise of the late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and extend congratulations on the succession of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
The Crown Prince said the relations between the two countries have witnessed tremendous progress since the visit to Korea by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz several years ago.
He called on businessmen in the two countries to work for the development and enhancement of relations for the benefit of both countries and peoples in all fields.
On his part, the South Korean Prime Minister thanked the King, Crown Prince Sultan for warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to him and his accompanying delegation since arrival in the Kingdom, noting the great and prominent role of the Kingdom in the Middle East and its important role in hosting the forthcoming Islamic summit.
He congratulated the Kingdom on accession to the WTO, saying that the Kingdom is not only a leading oil producer but also an OPEC member who has a leading role in the international economy.
"It is time for all to enhance cooperation between the two countries", he said, calling on businessmen in the two countries to enhance the development of this relation and cooperation between them.
The Korean Prime Minister also congratulated the Crown Prince on the qualifying of the Saudi soccer first team tor the World Cup finals 2006 in Germany.
During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, led by the situation in the Middle East, in addition to the trade exchange between them.
The meeting was attended on the Saudi part by Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, a number of princes, ministers and senior protocol officials.
On the Korean side, the meeting was attended by senior officials accompanying the Prime Minister.
