President Moon holds bilateral talks with UK Prime Minister... Agreement on equitable vaccine distribution

G7-Hosted Summit with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson... Seeking to Expand Cooperation in Vaccine R&D

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the 13th (local time), President Moon Jae-in held a bilateral summit with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK, and shared a consensus on the equitable distribution of vaccines.

The Blue House announced that "On the second day of attending the G7 summit on the 13th, President Moon held a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson."

The two leaders agreed that equitable distribution of vaccines is crucial to overcoming the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue House explained, "They agreed to seek expanded cooperation in areas such as vaccine research and development to enable rapid development and equitable distribution of vaccines in the event of large-scale infectious disease outbreaks, including COVID-19, in the future."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon evaluated the UK's successful response to COVID-19 based on its high vaccination rate. He also explained that South Korea aims to achieve herd immunity by November through rapid vaccination.

Furthermore, the Blue House stated, "The two leaders assessed the continuity of cooperation in political and economic fields even after Brexit and the stable development of bilateral relations, agreeing to expand and strengthen cooperation in all areas including trade and investment."

The two leaders evaluated the stable implementation of the Korea-UK FTA since January this year and agreed to work together to develop a closer economic cooperation relationship.

The Blue House said, "This Korea-UK summit is evaluated as an opportunity to engage in close communication on current issues such as trade and investment, climate change and environmental protection, and COVID-19 response with the UK, which is the G7 chair country this year and the host of COP26, leading international discussions in areas including climate change, health, and education."