Moon returns home after trip to Europe

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in returned home Friday from a three-nation trip to Europe which saw him attend the G20 summit in Rome, the U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, and a state visit to Hungary.

Ahead of the G20 summit in Rome, Moon met Pope Francis at the Vatican and asked the pope to visit North Korea to help achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. Francis positively reacted to the offer, saying he is willing to do so if he receives an invitation from the North.

During the G20 summit, Moon pledged that South Korea will completely phaseout coal-fired power generation by 2050 and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality on a global level.

In Glasgow, Scotland, Moon used the 26th U.N. climate change conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP26), to
officially declare South Korea's commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030. South Korea also signed the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

In Budapest, Moon and Hungarian President Janos Ader celebrated the sharp rise in trade between the two countries and agreed to strengthen bilateral ties to create a strategic partnership between South Korea and Hungary.

Moon also held meetings with the prime ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia in the second V4-Korean Business Forum between South Korea and the Visegrad group since 2020. During the V4-Korea Business Forum, the leaders agreed to expand on cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, education and culture.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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