While not an official agenda item at the international political forum opening Thursday in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, discussions of the South Korean economic "miracle" and that country's potential as a driving force in the world economy could have more far-reaching effects than any of the issues topping the agenda of the forum, which is titled "Democratic standards and efficiency criteria in modern nation states".
President Dmitry Medvedev's meeting on the sidelines with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, will be among the forum's most high-profile events. But his side talks with Nicolas Sarkozy may prove equally important. These will be a follow-up to recent discussions between the French leader and two senior Russian officials, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, during a session in Paris of the Russian-French Cooperation Council for Security Issues.
Sarkozy's spokesman told reporters then that the French president would like Russia to play a more active role in preparations for G20 meetings when in November he assumes the rotating presidency of the influential club of the world's 20 leading economies, whose aggregate gross domestic product accounts for 85% of global output.
France will take over the presidency from South Korea after the next G20 meeting, hosted by this Northeast Asian country, and the French leader's stated goal for his term is to make the G20 more effective.
At the Yaroslavl forum, Lee Myung-bak will find himself in the spotlight not as the president of a country mediating in international talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, but as the leader of an advanced economic power built on high technology and innovation.
RIA Novosti
