President Lee Jae Myung (second from right) on June 16 speaks at the G7 summit's first expanded session in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

By Charles Audouin
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung has stressed the "utmost importance of sharing the fruits of technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI) with all countries around the world and growing together."

He said this on June 16 at the first expanded session of the G7 summit of the world's major industrial powers in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

The session discussed the strengthening of development cooperation amid a changing environment including reductions in global development assistance. Leaders of the seven industrial powers -- France, the U.S., Japan, U.K., Germany, Canada, Italy and European Union -- attended the meeting alongside those of the five invited countries: Korea, India, Brazil, Kenya and Egypt.

The presidents of the World Bank and the African Development Bank were also present.

President Lee Jae Myung (second from left in second row) on June 16 poses for a photo with other heads of state at the G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

"The AI revolution represents both a new challenge and a growth opportunity for humanity, but many developing countries are unable to fully access this opportunity," President Lee said. "We must support recipient countries so that the technological gap between countries do not translate into s growth gap."

"To this end, the Republic of Korea proposes a vision for a 'global AI society' that ensures that all of humanity shares in the benefits of AI."

"The success of development cooperation depends not only by funding scale but also the how the lives of people in recipient countries change," he added, stressing the need to maximize the tangible impact of such cooperation.

Finally, President Lee said, "The government of the Republic of Korea will fulfill its responsibilities and assume its role in building global partnerships based on our experience and capacity as a nation that developed from an aid recipient into an aid donor."

During the summit, Seoul expressed its support for the host nation France's adoption of documents on mutually beneficial international partnerships, cancer prevention and treatment, and response to Ebola.

President Lee Jae Myung (right) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 16 shake hands after their bilateral summit at the G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

Also on June 16, President Lee held separate bilateral talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

With Chancellor Merz, who is scheduled to visit Korea in October, President Lee discussed potential cooperation in the defense industry. They agreed to raise collaboration in fields like AI and energy and boost coordination on global issues such as supply chain stability and climate change.

With Prime Minister Carney, President Lee made cooperation in security, energy and natural resources a key agenda item, saying Korea is prepared to actively contribute to strengthening Canada's security capacity. Both sides also decided to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in crude oil, liquefied natural gas and critical minerals.

President Lee Jae Myung (right) on June 16 speaks to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in their bilateral summit at the G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

President Lee also exchanged greetings with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at a welcoming reception for invited countries at the summit.

Cheong Wa Dae said President Trump asked about inter-Korean relations, to which President Lee responded by saying, "Just like you strived to resolve issues in the Middle East, please play a role in finding a peaceful solution to the North Korea issue."

President Trump reportedly responded by expressing his willingness to accommodate President Lee's request.

caudouin@korea.kr