President Moon talks with New Zealand Prime Minister: "Bilateral relations strengthened by the Korean War participation will further develop"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "I am confident that the relationship between the two countries, forged through participation in the Korean War, will further develop, as Prime Minister Ardern personally attends the 70th anniversary ceremony of the Korean War hosted by the New Zealand government."

President Moon Jae-in said this on the 28th in the afternoon during a 30-minute phone call starting at 4:30 PM at the request of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. President Moon said, "Despite the restrictions on exchanges between countries due to COVID-19, I was pleased to hear the good news that the New Zealand naval support ship ‘Aotearoa,’ built in Korea, was recently safely delivered to New Zealand."

‘Aotearoa’ means ‘long white cloud’ in Maori. It is a 26,000-ton naval support ship (a $250 million contract) built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. Prime Minister Ardern said, "It was an honor to speak at the important event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War," adding, "The Aotearoa, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, has safely arrived and become New Zealand’s most important vessel. I thank President Moon for the cooperation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, Prime Minister Ardern said, "Although belated, congratulations on your overwhelming victory in the April general election," and emphasized, "I am well aware of and highly appreciate President Moon’s dedication to COVID-19 response." Ardern also added, "New Zealand experienced COVID-19 later and was able to learn from other countries’ responses, especially learning a lot from Korea’s response process."

President Moon also evaluated, "New Zealand is truly a model country where the Prime Minister has won against COVID-19 through strong measures."

When Prime Minister Ardern said, "Especially, I believe vaccines should be distributed fairly worldwide upon development," President Moon responded, "International cooperation for vaccine and treatment development is very urgent, and I am pleased that discussions for cooperation between the two countries are underway."

President Moon said, "The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), headquartered in Seoul, is the only international organization with world-class research capabilities for vaccine development and distribution," and requested, "We ask for New Zealand’s active participation."

Prime Minister Ardern said, "I highly appreciate IVI’s capabilities. You can trust that New Zealand will establish itself as a partner in vaccine development," adding, "Not only in vaccine development but also in overcoming nationalism and restoring the free trade order, the two countries will cooperate closely."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ardern said, "As a country that values trade, New Zealand is very interested in the selection of the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)." President Moon said, "Our country’s candidate, Yoo Myung-hee, the head of the Trade Negotiations Headquarters, is the only candidate from the Asia-Pacific region running for the next WTO Director-General election. She is a woman and a trade expert who can lead WTO reform and strengthen the multilateral trading system," and added, "We look forward to New Zealand’s support."

Prime Minister Ardern said, "I know Yoo Myung-hee is a strong candidate," and stated, "I have heard she has excellent qualifications and am paying close attention." President Moon said, "The COVID-19 crisis reaffirmed the need to transition to a digital and green economy to build a sustainable and resilient economic structure. Our government is also promoting the Korean New Deal policy, and I hope the two countries will actively cooperate in the post-COVID economic transition process."

Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said, "The two leaders also exchanged opinions on cooperation to trace the routes of COVID-19 confirmed cases entering the country from New Zealand and on the allegations of sexual harassment involving our diplomat."

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