Johannesburg, Nov. 23 (LatestNewsX) – President Lee Jae‑Myung urged the Group of 20 to revive the World Trade Organization so that global growth can be strengthened. He stressed that a predictable trading and investment environment is essential for growth and said that “The revitalisation of the World Trade Organization serves the interests of all nations.”
Lee made his appeal during the opening session of the G20 summit, as the multilateral trading system faces mounting pressure, reports Yonhap news agency. He called on the world to create a stable framework for trade and investment that will unlock new growth potential.
The president also announced South Korea’s active involvement with the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in Africa next year. South Korea will push for the Adoption of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement to be incorporated into the WTO’s legal framework at that meeting. The IFD is designed to streamline investment processes—making them easier, clearer, and more efficient—especially for developing countries.
In the same session, Lee outlined ways to ease the debt burdens that hinder development and investment in poorer nations. “To advance toward the future, we must strategically allocate resources toward sectors with the greatest growth potential, thereby creating a virtuous cycle that generates wealth and reduces our debt burden at the same time,” he said. He illustrated this by citing South Korea’s increased investment in future‑growth sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) and described a fiscal policy that expands spending in high‑performing industries to lower the nation’s debt ratio over the long term.
Lee also highlighted the importance of deeper international cooperation to boost the effectiveness of development projects in poorer countries. He noted South Korea’s role in the reform roadmap for Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and pledged ongoing effort to improve the institutions that finance development projects abroad.
He described the first G20 meeting in Africa as “highly meaningful” and voiced support for the African Cooperation Framework, a multilateral initiative aimed at advancing sustainable development across the continent.
During the second session, under the theme “A Resilient World,” Lee pressed countries to collaborate on tackling climate change, food security, and disaster risk management. South Korea has recently set a goal to cut its greenhouse‑gas emissions by 53‑61 % from 2018 levels by 2035, updating its nationally determined contribution for the next decade. The president also highlighted his government’s projects to expand renewable energy, especially solar and wind, as a way to address climate change and spur growth in the green sector. He underlined the need to shift disaster‑risk management toward prevention and resilience, urging investments in resilient infrastructure while pursuing the energy transition. —LatestNewsX
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