Meeting to mark his first overseas trip of the year

President Hu Jintao will begin his first overseas trip of the year by attending two multilateral summits committed to tackling thorny nuclear security issues and enhancing cooperation among world's leading emerging economies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Monday that Hu will attend the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and a meeting of leaders from the BRICS nations grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in New Delhi from Mar 26 to 29, followed by a state visit to Cambodia from Mar 30 to April 2.

Hu's visit to Cambodia, the current chair country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will help China improve relations in the region, analysts said.

The foreign ministry said in a press release on its website that Hu will illustrate China's nuclear security policies and efforts in the sector at the nuclear summit, a meeting aimed at enhancing nuclear materials and facility safety and preventing nuclear terrorism.

The Seoul summit is also expected to focus on specific guidelines for nuclear safety.

The Republic of Korea announced that 53 heads of state and chiefs of international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency will attend the summit.

Although the summit is held on the Korean Peninsula and will be attended by leaders from five countries that are members of the Six-Party Talks, the reduction of nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation are not on the agenda for the summit, the ROK's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported.

If Hu meets with US President Barack Obama, he will probably stress the importance of nuclear safety and call for the further implementation of China-US cooperative agreements reached during his visit to the US in 2011, said Fan Jishe, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.