Moon to make three-nation trip to Europe next week

By Kim Deok-hyun

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in will make a three-nation European trip next week for a G20 summit in Italy, the COP26 climate summit in Britain, as well as a state visit to Hungary, the presidential office said Friday.

On the first leg of the trip, Moon will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Oct. 29 to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula and efforts to end the pandemic, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said.

Moon and Pope Francis are expected to exchange their wisdom to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and resolve pending global issues, such as pandemic, poverty and climate change, Park said.

Moon plans to discuss with other world leaders tackling the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and how to foster global economic recovery during the G20 summit set for Oct. 30 and 31.

After Italy, Moon will visit Glasgow, Scotland to attend the COP26, a United Nations climate summit, on Nov. 1 and 2.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be high on the agenda at the U.N. climate talks, where Moon will deliver a keynote speech.

Last week, Moon finalized a decision for South Korea to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030, sharply raising its previous goal as part of efforts to curb the pace of climate change.

Moon also confirmed South Korea will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as the nation started tackling the challenge of responding to climate change and attaining sustainable growth simultaneously.

South Korea's decision to reduce emissions will be reported to the COP26 talks, officials said.

On the last leg of the trip, Moon will make a state visit to Hungary on Nov. 2.

Hungary erected a monument in memory of the 25 South Koreans killed in the 2019 deadly boat sinking in Budapest. The memorial stone was set up near the accident site in the Danube River, where the Korean tourists aboard a sightseeing boat went missing after the vessel collided with a bigger cruise line.

On Nov. 2, Moon will visit the site and pay tribute to the victims, the presidential office said.

Moon will hold bilateral meetings with Hungarian President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Nov. 3.

In Budapest on Nov. 4, Moon will hold a summit with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in the second summit between South Korea and the so-called Visegrad Group.

The Visegrad Group is the second-largest market in Europe, and the visit is expected to help South Korean firms make inroads into the European market in the fields of electric cars and batteries, the presidential official said.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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