American businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates today called on South Korea to contribute to increasing international efforts to prevent infectious diseases such as Covid, stressing the need for the world to be better prepared for the next pandemic.

In an address to South Korea's parliament in Seoul, the American billionaire called for stronger global cooperation, including in the area of ​​developing vaccines that would be effective against a wider range of coronaviruses, to get humanity through this "critical moment" in global health care.

The Foundation Bill and Melinda Gates and the government of South Korea have committed to a partnership aimed at addressing disparities between countries' health systems and supporting efforts to eradicate infectious diseases in developing countries, the co-founder of software giant Microsoft announced.

Bill Gates highlighted South Korea's strength in healthcare, research and vaccine production. He welcomed the country's pledge to donate $200 million to the UN-backed KOVAX program, which provides Covid vaccines to poorer countries.

He then met with the South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, who explained the government's plans to promote the biomedical sector and expressed readiness for further cooperation with the billionaire philanthropist's foundation to "improve the health" of people around the world.

Gates has called South Korea a "good partner" for his foundation in health projects, including developing more affordable Covid-19 vaccines and fighting HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.

"We hope that we will be able to do more together, emphasized Bill Gates. Gates called South Korea a "good partner" for his foundation in health projects, including developing more affordable Covid-19 vaccines and fighting HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. "We hope we can do more together," he was quoted as saying by the South Korean president's office.