President Lee Jae Myung (right) speaks with Bill Gates, the chair of the Gates Foundation, during their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
SEOUL — President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday met with Bill Gates, the chair of the Gates Foundation, and discuss ways to expand cooperation in global health initiatives, the presidential office said Thursday.
Lee praised Gates’ efforts in public health and climate change and pledged to seek ways to expand cooperation with the nonprofit foundation’s global initiatives.
“You have been developing public goods for humanity, such as vaccines and eco-friendly energy facilities, which is truly admirable,” he said at the start of the meeting. “The government of the Republic of Korea will also seek ways to participate as much as possible.”
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Gates said he expects South Korea to play an important role in global health initiatives through “innovative products” in vaccines and diagnostic equipment, as well as other contributions.
“The growth of the bioscience sector here in Korea is very impressive whether it’s the research at the International Vaccine Institute,” he said, mentioning his foundation’s cooperation with SD Biosensor, EuBiologics, SK bioscience and LG.
He also introduced the achievements of the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Global Fund in curbing such diseases as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, expressing hope for South Korea’s increased contribution to global health initiatives.
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Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, was visiting South Korea to explore cooperation with Korean pharmaceutical companies on vaccine supply projects for low-income countries. (Yonhap) /dl
