President Moon Jae-in pledged Saturday that South Korea will boost its production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines for a fair distribution of doses in developing nations facing a new wave of the pandemic.
Moon made the pledge during a meeting on the first day of the G-20 summit in the Italian capital, according to presidential officials.
The coronavirus crisis, climate change and how to foster a global economic recovery are expected to dominate the two-day gathering, the first in-person summit since the pandemic.
During the first session of the G-20 summit, Moon told world leaders that there will be no measures that can stem the spread of COVID-19 unless vaccines are supplied to all nations in sufficient quantities.
"The Republic of Korea will further increase its capacity of vaccine production as a hub of global vaccine manufacturing," Moon told the G-20 session.
South Korea is currently manufacturing and supplying four different COVID-19 vaccines that have been globally certified to be safe and effective.
"Unless vaccination rates in all nations rise together, it will be difficult for us to maintain containment situations in a stable manner and fully return to normal life," Moon said.
Moon called for world leaders to show "solidarity and cooperation" to deliver vaccines in a fairer manner.
To foster global economic recovery, Moon urged the G-20 nations to keep their expansionary policies and dispel inflationary concerns by curbing rises in commodity prices.
At the G-20 summit, leaders are trying to project unity in phasing out coal and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The G-20 summit is seen as a precursor to next week's bigger U.N. climate conference called the COP26.
Earlier this month, South Korea finalized a decision to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030, sharply raising its previous goal as part of efforts to curb the pace of climate change.
South Korea also confirmed that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as the nation started tackling the challenge of responding to climate change and attaining sustainable growth simultaneously.
South Korea's decision to reduce emissions will be reported during the COP26 talks, officials said.
After Italy, Moon will visit Glasgow, Scotland, to attend the U.N. climate summit, where Moon will deliver a keynote speech.
Source: Yonhap News Agency