MANILA, Philippines?President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo flew to South Korea on Saturday to join heads of governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in commemorating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between Asean and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The Asean-ROK summit will be held on Jeju Island on June 1-2.

The President left Manila after swearing in the country?s new ambassador to Ireland, Ariel Abadilla, and inaugurating the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway.

Ms Arroyo will make a brief stopover in Seoul for bilateral talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and meetings with the Filipino community.

From Seoul, Arroyo will proceed to Jeju.

According to Malacañang, the summit will have two sessions.

In Session One, the leaders will review the status of Asean-ROK dialogue relations and find ways to strengthen ties in the political, security, economic and sociocultural fields.

In Session Two, the leaders will seek ways to further strengthen cooperation, especially in addressing global challenges such as the financial crisis, energy security and climate change.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said earlier that the meeting between President Arroyo and President Lee would be an ?opportunity for the two leaders to discuss the state of bilateral relations and chart a new direction for a strategic and mutually beneficial future, especially in the economic field.?

Remonde said the commemorative summit, on the other hand, would ?affirm the two countries? collaboration with the rest of the region and the international community in the face of global economic and security challenges.?

The Republic of Korea is one of the Philippines? most dynamic bilateral partners with trade between the two standing at around $5.06 billion.

South Korean investments in the Philippines are at over $3 billion, topping the list of foreign domestic investment inflows. More than 600,000 South Korean tourists visit the country annually, the largest share of visitor arrivals here.

Abadilla, who rose through the ranks in the foreign service, took his oath before Arroyo at 10:45 a.m. in the VIP Lounge of NAIA Terminal 3.

A career service officer, Abadilla, passed the foreign service exams in 1978 with the rank of Chief of Mission (ambassador).

Since 1994 he has held postings in New York, Houston, Seattle, Beijing, Sydney and Washington D.C. His latest assignment was consul general in Hawaii. Michael Lim Ubac