Assembly speaker stresses transnational cooperation in G-20 talks

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug stressed international cooperation while meeting with global leaders and promising cooperation and support with his counterparts from other nations in his trip Thursday to Europe for G-20 diplomatic talks.

Upon attending the opening ceremony of the 7th G-20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in Rome, Park held bilateral talks with Germany’s President Reiner Haseloff and South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqukula.

Park relayed South Korea’s interest to increase collaboration with Germany in vaccine development, highlighting that Germany’s BioNTech works with US drugmaker Pfizer to develop and produce mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.

He told Haseloff that Korea hopes to take part in the G-7 discussions next year, as it had earlier this year, asking Germany to continue in its leadership role of fostering the global economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era.

“We have come to a good understanding of where we both stand through today’s talk, and I appreciate the invaluable insights you have shared on the inter-Korean relationship,” Park was quoted as saying, according to his office.

Haseloff said Germany will focus on continuing its economic partnership with Korea, adding that the two countries have already built “robust relationships in the fields of solar power and automobiles.”

“Politics move forward when people come together, and I believe more projects can be delivered under mutual trust when (the two nations) work together more frequently,” Haseloff said, according to Park’s office.

In bilateral talks with his counterpart from South Africa, Park said he looks forward to celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and South Africa in 2022, hoping to deepen the bond between the two nations.

Park asked for “continued support for the Korean people and companies for investments and economic activities,” as he believes “Africa will become the leader in delivering future growth of the world.”

Mapisa-Nqukula replied that his country has devoted support for Korean businesses, asking for Park’s support on an initiative driven by India and South Africa focused on fair access to COVID-19 vaccines and to join forces in their fight against vaccine nationalism.

Park said South Korea already contributed $11.85 million last year as a member of the Access to COVID-19 Tools-Accelerator partnership, announcing plans to devote $210 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment.

The South Korean parliamentary leader stressed in a speech later that countries should come together and collaborate to overcome economic difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic with an emphasis on social and environmental sustainability.

“The global economy is facing a serious recession in the wake of COVID-19. On top of that, we are witnessing severe natural disasters far too often these days,” he said. “All those signs indicate that we are getting closer to the tipping point.”

During his visit to Rome, Park also held informal talks with Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, and parliamentary leaders of 10 nations including France, Spain, Singapore, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey, India and Indonesia.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)