(LEAD) Yoon meets with delegations from Indonesia, Central African Republic

All News 20:09 May 11, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in last 3 paras; ADDS last photo)

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol met Wednesday with delegations from Indonesia, the Central African Republic and other nations who were in Seoul to attend his inauguration ceremony the previous day.

In a meeting with former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Yoon discussed the two countries' shared experiences in achieving democratization and economic development, saying he hopes for Indonesia's continued support for South Korea as this year's chair of the Group of 20.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (L) receives a letter from former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri (2nd from R), also leader of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, during their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan Ward on May 11, 2022. (Yonhap)

Megawati handed Yoon a congratulatory letter from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, saying he had also invited Yoon to visit Indonesia.

The president later met with Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera, saying he welcomed the first visit by the African nation's president to South Korea in 20 years.

Touadera said he was impressed by Tuesday's inauguration ceremony and honored to attend.

Yoon also held separate meetings with delegations from Canada and Saudi Arabia, and then Qatar, Nigeria, Ecuador and Mongolia as a group.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (R) poses for a photo with Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera prior to their talks at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan Ward on May 11, 2022. (Yonhap)

During the meeting, Mongolian presidential chief of staff Yangug Sodbaatar invited Yoon to the global security conference Ulaanbaatar Dialogue slated for June 24-25 in the Mongolian capital.

Separately, he met with a parliamentary delegation from Japan and stressed that restoring frayed relations between the two countries will serve the interests of both sides.

He added that South Korea plans to set up antivirus measures at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport to reopen the route to Tokyo's Haneda Airport next month, and requested Japan exempt South Korean travelers from self-isolation.