2019 Nobel Peace Prize Winner: "Africa Also Needs President Moon's Global Leadership"

President Moon Jae-in Talks with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ethiopian Prime Minister on COVID-19 Response Measures

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "Africa also needs President Moon Jae-in's experience and global leadership." Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said this during a phone call with President Moon Jae-in on the afternoon of the 30th, the Blue House reported. Prime Minister Abiy is the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said, "At Prime Minister Abiy's request, President Moon had a 17-minute phone call starting at 5 p.m., exchanging views on measures to respond to the globally spreading COVID-19."

President Moon expressed concern about the spread of COVID-19 across the African continent and said, "I evaluate Prime Minister Abiy's leadership in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Africa, including Ethiopia, by securing support for quarantine supplies through recent cooperation with Alibaba."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Abiy said, "I felt proud watching my brother-like President Moon's response to COVID-19," and praised, "The exemplary response of tracing contacts to the end and treating them was especially impressive."

Prime Minister Abiy added, "Africa is currently facing COVID-19 response as the most important agenda, and Ethiopia is also suffering enormous economic damage due to COVID-19."

President Moon replied, "The joint statement adopted at the G20 special video summit includes the necessity of protecting the international economy and the importance of African health issues," and added, "I also expressed my willingness to actively participate in the summit in supporting vulnerable countries and strengthening developing countries' infectious disease response capabilities."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon said, "I hope that the issue of supporting Africa will be discussed in depth during the follow-up process of the G20 leaders' joint statement," and added, "Korea will also actively participate and cooperate."

Furthermore, President Moon expressed gratitude, saying, "Our Hanbit Unit soldiers who completed the UN mission in South Sudan safely returned on the 28th using an Ethiopian Airlines charter flight, thanks to the active cooperation of Prime Minister Abiy and Ethiopian authorities."

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Since Ethiopia is an important air hub for the African continent, we requested the Prime Minister's special attention to ensure that our citizens residing in the African region face no difficulties when returning home via Ethiopia."

Prime Minister Abiy said, "Ethiopian Airlines has always fought together for freedom," and added, "Whenever Korea asks for help, we will assist not only in South Sudan but also in withdrawals from other countries."

Spokesperson Kang said, "President Moon and Prime Minister Abiy agreed that they must jointly respond to the COVID-19 crisis in a way that minimizes restrictions on movement and trade between countries, and they agreed to continue efforts with the international community for this purpose."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.