Deputy Minister Choi Jong-geon Meets Norwegian Ambassador... Requests Support for Director Yoo Myung-hee

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 16th, Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Frode Solberg, Ambassador of Norway to Korea, and exchanged wide-ranging views on the development of Korea-Norway relations, cooperation in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election, and other international cooperation.

Vice Minister Choi evaluated that last year, marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Norway, the President's state visit to Norway laid the groundwork for advancing bilateral relations. He emphasized the need to work together to expand cooperation between the two countries into future-oriented fields such as the Arctic, health, and eco-friendly initiatives.

Ambassador Solberg expressed hope for active exchanges of high-level officials between the two countries and pledged to strive to further develop the cooperative partnership between Korea and Norway.

Additionally, Vice Minister Choi requested positive consideration for Korea's accession to the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), which is actively engaged in COVID-19 vaccine research and development, and expressed hope that the two countries would continue to cooperate in multilateral health collaboration.

In response, Ambassador Solberg highly praised Korea's COVID-19 response and expressed hope to strengthen cooperation with Korea not only in sharing COVID-19 prevention experiences but also in the field of vaccine development.

Vice Minister Choi requested support for Yoo Myung-hee, the Chief Trade Negotiator who advanced to the final round of the WTO Director-General election, and Ambassador Solberg congratulated Chief Yoo on reaching the final round, highly appreciating her outstanding capabilities and qualifications.

Both sides agreed to continue sharing important values such as democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law, and to maintain a strong cooperative partnership through close communication on various bilateral and multilateral issues.

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