President Moon to Hold Korea-EU Summit Today... Discussing Cooperation Measures for COVID-19 Response

This Year's First Summit Held 'Non-Face-to-Face' Due to COVID-19 Impact

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in will hold a Korea-European Union (EU) video summit at the Blue House on the 30th. This is the first summit held this year and will be conducted non-face-to-face for the first time in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Moon, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will hold the Korea-EU summit from 4 p.m. (Korean time) that day. On our side, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, Director of the National Security Office Chung Eui-yong, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Sang-jo, and Director-General for Trade Yoo Myung-hee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will attend. The two leaders will start with President Moon’s opening remarks, hold talks, and then adopt a joint press statement.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Korea establishing a 'strategic partnership' with the EU. Although the summit was originally planned to be held in Seoul, it was changed to a video summit at the EU’s suggestion due to the COVID-19 situation.

This is not only the first bilateral meeting with the EU under the Moon Jae-in administration but also the first meeting with the new EU leadership launched at the end of last year. In particular, the EU’s 'European Green Deal' policy is expected to become a major partner as it aligns with our government’s 'Green New Deal.'

Chief Presidential Secretary for Communications Kang Min-seok stated, "In this summit, President Moon will discuss cooperation with the EU in health and quarantine sectors, international solidarity for vaccine and treatment development, and COVID-19 response coordination, as well as ways to diversify cooperation into future sectors such as trade and investment promotion, digital economy, and renewable energy." He added, "They will also exchange in-depth views on the Korean Peninsula situation with the EU, which has made constructive contributions to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula."

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