(Foreign Ministry-Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has renewed calls for countries to maintain essential people-to-people exchanges to spur economic recovery from the aftermath of the new coronavirus, her office said Wednesday.
Kang made the remarks during Tuesday's videoconference with her counterparts from six countries, including Canada and Australia. It was the ninth such session since the talks were launched in March to discuss joint efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Minister Kang proposed that the countries further beef up cooperation in maintaining essential exchanges among nations to keep global supply chains and promote economic recovery while maintaining stable quarantine efforts," the foreign ministry said in a press release.
The minister stressed that while leaving its borders open despite the pandemic, South Korea has been revving up diplomatic efforts to enable necessary overseas travel by businesspeople and humanitarian workers.
She also noted that Seoul has been pushing for a series of projects, such as bolstering digital industries, to quickly overcome the economic ramifications of the pandemic and prepare for the post-COVID-19 era.
In addition, the minister pointed out the need for international cooperation in exploring ways for the "fair and stable" distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine after developing it as part of the "public goods."
The latest session involved top diplomats of Canada, Australia, Morocco, Indonesia, Peru and Singapore. (Yonhap)