President Moon Jae-in and other leaders of the Group of 20 major global economies gathered Saturday for a summit that is expected to focus on tackling the climate crisis and helping the world end the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two-day summit began with an official welcoming ceremony as world leaders, wearing masks, posed for a group photo in the Italian capital.
The pandemic and climate crisis are expected to dominate the summit, as COVID-19 is still undermining a fragile global economic recovery.
The G20 summit comes as pandemic-hit disruptions of supply chains cloud the outlook of a global economic recovery.
During the summit, Moon is also expected to discuss how to share COVID-19 vaccines with low-income nations to fight the pandemic.
Attention is focusing on whether Moon will hold a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the summit, but Moon's office said no timing has been decided.
Moon held a meeting with Pope Francis on Friday, during which he asked the pope to visit North Korea to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The pope positively reacted to the offer, saying he is willing to do so if he receives an invitation from the North.
After Italy, Moon will visit Glasgow, Scotland, to attend the COP26, a United Nations climate change conference, on Monday and Tuesday. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be high on the agenda at the talks, where Moon will deliver a keynote speech.
Source: Yonhap News Agency