MFA Press Statement: Visit by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong to Seoul, Republic of Korea, 28-29 November 2011

Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong will visit Seoul from 28-29 November 2011 at the invitation of President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung-bak as a member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) for the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit (NSS). The EPG was formed to advise President Lee on the substantive elements of the NSS. The EPG comprises 15 international statesmen, former senior government officials, and prominent academics with expertise in international security, nuclear security and non-proliferation issues such as former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hans Blix. (The list of EPG members is attached at Annex.)

ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will convene the meeting of the EPG and President Lee Myung-bak will host a meal for the EPG members on 29 November 2011. During these meetings, the EPG is expected to discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism, emerging nuclear safety and security challenges and the importance of international cooperation in addressing these challenges. ESM will be accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

. . . . .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
27 NOVEMBER 2011

ANNEX

THE EMINENT PERSONS GROUP FOR PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK, CHAIR OF THE 2012 SEOUL NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT

1. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India

2. Gareth Evans, Chancellor, Australian National University and former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

3. Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister of Singapore

4. Graham Allison, Director of Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at JFK School of Government, Harvard University

5. Han Seung-joo, Chairman, International Policy Studies Institute of Korea and former Korean Foreign Minister

6. Hans Blix, Former Swedish Foreign Minister and Former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency

7. Henry Kissinger, Former Secretary of State, USA

8. Hubert Vedrine, Former Foreign Minister, France

9. Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov, Professor, Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and former Russian Foreign Minister

10. Kang Chang-soon, Chairman, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Republic of Korea

11. Li Zhaoxing, Former Foreign Minister, People's Republic of China

12. Oh Myung, Former Minister of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea

13. Sam Nunn, CEO of Nuclear Threat Initiative, USA

14. Shinichi Kitaoka, Professor, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo

15. William Perry, Former Secretary of Defense, USA

. . . . .