I am pleased to announce that the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Mr Roh Moo-hyun, will visit Australia from 5 to 7 December 2006.
Australia's relationship with the Republic of Korea is vibrant and highly complementary. Korea was our third largest export market and fourth largest trading partner in 2005-06, with two-way merchandise trade worth more than $18 billion. Australia is a stable and secure supplier of energy and resources to power Korea's impressive economic growth.
Our people-to-people links are also growing strongly. Korea was Australia's third largest source of overseas students in 2005 and the number of Korean tourists visiting Australia grew to a record 250,000.
Our cooperation across a range of areas, including defence, the environment and science and technology, continues to strengthen. The signing of government to government agreements during the visit will expand further the scope of our bilateral cooperation.
President Roh will visit Canberra and Sydney during his time in Australia.